GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – While it seems harder to get people who haven’t sought the COVID-19 vaccine yet to get a shot, more people in Wisconsin are completing the vaccination process.

Friday’s numbers from the Wisconsin Department of Health (DHS) show 45.1% of Wisconsinites have completed the vaccination process, either by getting both shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. We’re still on target for 50% of Wisconsinites getting at least one dose by the end of next week.

Health experts say that second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine is crucial, because one shot isn’t enough to protect against some of the variants of the COVID-19 virus, particularly the delta variant. As we’ve reported, that variant is proving to be more contagious and causing serious illness in children and adults under 40 — age groups that were more resilient against the original virus. The DHS reported this week that genetic testing of COVID-19 samples found 35 cases since April were the delta variant, representing just 0.5% of samples taken in the northeastern part of the state.

The state reported the spread of the virus is low in 7 counties, an improvement from 3 counties last week, and it’s high in 10 counties, down from 27 the week before. The spread is moderate in the other 55 counties.

To date, vaccinators have administered 5,433,176 doses of COVID-19 vaccines since December 13, 2020. More than 300 million doses have been administered nationwide since mid-January (see related story).

Kids ages 12 to 15 continue to lead the charge since they became eligible for the Pfizer vaccine. In about a month, more than 1 in 4 (25.6%) received at least one dose while 1 in 6 is fully vaccinated.

Vaccinations by age group (and increase since Wednesday’s report)

• 12-15: 25.6% received a dose (+0.5)/16.6% completed (+1.0)
• 16-17: 35.4% received a dose (+0.3)/29.3% completed (+0.4)
• 18-24: 40.4% received a dose (+0.2)/34.6% completed (+0.3)
• 25-34: 45.9% received a dose (+0.1)/40.6% completed (+0.2)
• 35-44: 54.2% received a dose (+0.2)/48.9% completed (+0.2)
• 45-54: 56.0% received a dose (+0.1)/51.1% completed (+0.3)
• 55-64: 66.6% received a dose (+0.1)/61.7% completed (+0.2)
• 65+: 84.1% received a dose (+0.1)/80.5% completed (+0.1)

The state says 1 recent death was reported. It was in Winnebago County. The death toll stayed at 7,235 because another county’s death count was revised. That keeps the average number of COVID-19 deaths in Wisconsin at 1 per day over the past 7 days.

The 7-day average of new cases fell to 83 per day. The state says 113 cases were reported by Friday’s deadline. The positivity rate — the measure of all tests coming back positive for the coronavirus — remains at 0.9%.

There were 43 more hospital admissions for COVID-19 since Thursday. The state is averaging 37 hospitalizations for COVID-19 each day, by our calculations.

There were 113 COVID-19 patients Friday, including 38 in intensive care units, in the state’s hospitals, the Wisconsin Hospital Association reported. That was 7 fewer patients in ICU and 8 fewer patients overall than the day before. That’s a new low for patients in ICU in our records, which go back to August 1, 2020. Fox Valley hospitals were treating 1 more patient than Thursday: They have 4 COVID-19 patients overall, with 1 in ICU. There was no change in the number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals in the Northeast health care region, which are treating 14 case, but there are now 4 patients in ICU, down from 7.

VACCINATIONS BY COUNTY POPULATION FRIDAY

State health officials are promoting the CDC’s Vaccine Finder website to make it easier to find and schedule appointments near you. You can also CLICK HERE for the First Alert Vaccine Team’s guide to vaccine clinics and vaccinators, including phone numbers and websites to make appointments and information on free rides to appointments.

FRIDAY’S COUNTY CASE AND DEATH TOTALS (counties with new cases or deaths are indicated in bold) **

• Brown – 31,933 cases (+5) (250 deaths)
• Calumet – 5,843 cases (+1) (51 deaths)
• Dickinson (Mich.) – 2,409 cases (59 deaths)
• Dodge – 11,994 cases (+0) (175 deaths)
• Door – 2,631 cases (24 deaths)
• Florence – 451 case) (13 deaths)
• Fond du Lac – 12,611 cases (+9) (125 deaths)
• Forest – 965 cases (23 deaths)
• Gogebic (Mich.) – 1,043 cases (23 deaths)
• Green Lake – 1,614 cases (19 deaths)
• Iron (Mich.) – 983 cases (43 deaths)
• Kewaunee – 2,376 cases (27 deaths)
• Manitowoc – 7,654 cases (72 deaths)
• Marinette – 4,235 cases (67 deaths)
• Menominee (Mich.) – 1,795 cases (41 deaths)
• Menominee – 805 cases (+1) (11 deaths)
• Oconto – 4,533 cases (+2) (59 deaths)
• Outagamie – 20,836 cases (222 deaths)
• Shawano – 4,748 cases (73 deaths)
• Sheboygan – 13,877 cases (+1) (147 deaths)
• Waupaca – 4,957 cases (+3) (123 deaths)
• Waushara – 2,217 cases (+1) (35 deaths)
• Winnebago – 18,359 cases (+1) (201 deaths) (+1)

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Wisconsin Hospital Association no longer report updates on weekends. The Michigan Department of Health does not report on Sundays.

** Cases and deaths are from state COVID-19 reports, which may differ from local health department numbers. The DHS reports cases from all health departments within a county’s boundaries, including tribal, municipal and county health departments; county websites may not. Also, public health departments update their data at various times, whereas the DHS freezes the numbers it receives by the same time every day to compile the afternoon report.

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