DISEASE UPDATES:

In the previous two weeks:
– The Burden of Illness for Langlade County was 116.3 per 100,000 and is still considered HIGH. There has been no significant change in the county’s disease rate from the previous 2-week period. (WI Burden of Illness was 199.9 per 100,000).
– The Positivity Rate for Langlade County was 2.8% and is still considered low. Only 641 tests were performed during that time period. (WI Positivity Rate was 3.2%).

There are new variants of the virus present in Wisconsin. It is important that anyone with symptoms be tested so that continued surveillance for the new variants can occur. There have been no variants identified in Langlade County at this time.

The Langlade County Health Department continues to advise the use of masks to help control the spread of COVID.

VACCINATION UPDATES:

Groups that are currently eligible to receive the vaccine include:
– Health care workers
– EMS, fire department and police departments
– Persons aged 65 and older

These prioritized groups are determined by the WI Department of Health Services, not local health departments.

The Federal government owns and controls the distribution of vaccine to the States.

Johnson & Johnson has requested emergency-use authorization from the FDA for their single-dose COVID-19 vaccine. The decision is anticipated on Feb 26, 2021.

The Federal government is partnering with Wisconsin Walgreens stores to provide COVID vaccine.
More information is available from Walgreens.

Vaccine is available from the Veterans Administration for veterans enrolled in VA health care:

• For those enrolled in the Iron Mountain VA system call 1-800-215-8262 ext. 33115
• For those enrolled in the Tomah VA system call 1-800-872-8662 ext. 66274

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has announced the launch of a new Wisconsin
COVID-19 Vaccine Registry on March 1, 2021, that will help connect people with available vaccine.

A vaccinated person that is exposed to a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 is not required to
quarantine if they meet all of the following criteria: they are fully vaccinated, they are vaccinated
within 90 days, and they display no symptoms of COVID-19. If a person has been fully vaccinated and
experiences symptoms of COVID-19, they should seek testing.

STATE AND COUNTY DATA: As of Thursday, February 18, 2020

Approximately 13.1 % of Wisconsin residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
In total (first and second doses) over 1 million doses have been given in Wisconsin.

43.2 % of Wisconsinites aged 65 and over have received their first dose of vaccine.
Approximately 11.5 % of Langlade County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19
vaccine. In total (first and second doses) 3219 doses have been given to Langlade County residents.

29.6% of Langlade County residents aged 65 and over have received their first dose of vaccine.

LANGLADE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT DATA: As of Thursday, February 18, 2021:

Langlade County Health Department has administered 980 total doses. Of these doses:

711 have been first doses
437 (61.5%) of these first doses have been provided to individuals in the 65 years or older eligibility
group. This percent may be slightly higher, as there have been individuals 65 years or older that were
vaccinated as a prior eligible group (health care worker, fire or police).

In total, the Langlade County Health Department has provided approximately 30.4% of the total
vaccinations received by its’ county residents.
(Benchmark for local health departments is 14%.)

Vaccine allocation continues to be less than what is requested.

We acknowledge the hard work of the additional vaccinators in our county, and value their partnership.

For additional information please see the CDC website, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services
website or the Langlade County Health Department website. You can also follow us on Facebook.