Chippewa County vaccine rates for minorities lag behind white residents

Mar. 3—CHIPPEWA FALLS — Chippewa County Public Health Director Angela Weideman said getting more minorities vaccinated has been a challenge that her office is working on fixing.

"The numbers are not where we want them to be," Weideman said Wednesday during her weekly COVID-19 press conference. "I wasn't surprised. Some people wanted to wait to see how others did."

Chippewa County has roughly 1,400 Black residents. As of Wednesday, 23 of them had received at least one COVID-19 vaccination. That is roughly 1.7% of the county's Black population, trailing far behind the white population, where 17.8% have received at least one dose.

Weideman said her office is committed to health equity and providing access to all Chippewa County residents. She said they also are working with the state's health department on strategies to reach not only the county's Black population, but also other groups like the Mennonite and Amish community.

About 7.6% of the county's Asian population have now received at least one shot, along with 7.2% of the Native American population. In Wisconsin, 15.5% of white residents have been vaccinated, compared to 5.1% of Black residents.

Overall, 2,759 COVID-19 vaccine doses were given in the past week, down from 3,734 last week. Weideman had predicted a steep decline was coming because of poor weather across the country last week, slowing the distribution of vaccinations, and it should be just a one-week dip.

"I do feel confident our doses will arrive on time," she said.

So far, 11,885 of the county's roughy 65,000 residents have received at least one shot; 6,791 people have so far received both doses, for an overall total of 18.693 doses administered.

Educators, from teachers to school staff to daycare workers, are now eligible to receive vaccinations. Weideman said her office is performing vaccination clinics at most of the schools in the county in coming weeks.

The one-shot formula Johnson & Johnson was approved for use last week. However, there is not a significant supply of that vaccine, and Weideman said she isn't sure how many doses will immediately be coming to Chippewa County.

"No one vaccine is better than another," she added.

In another positive, several "1A workers," like medical or long-term care employees, who initially passed on getting the vaccine have now opted to get it. Weideman said any 1A worker who didn't take it when initially offered it is still eligible.

"Some said they'd wait six months, but they got it two weeks later," she said.

Weideman reiterated that between the public health department, the pharmacies, and medical centers located in the county, she is confident that they have the ability to administer a signficant jump in vaccines if more doses become available.

First UK variant identified

Weideman announced that the first B117 variant of COVID-19, commonly called the UK variant, has been identified in Chippewa County. Labs in the state are identifying the cases through genome sequencing.

"We are concerned about the variant being found in Chippewa County, because it is more contagious," she said. "We don't want to see our numbers go up again."

In the past week, 34 new cases were reported from 527 tests given, for a 9.2% positivity rate. A week ago, there were 38 new cases fromm 323 tests given, for an 11.7% positivity rate. Weideman was pleased to see the sharp jump in tests conducted in the past week.

Chippewa County remains close to dropping from a high risk level to moderate risk level, as cases continue a steady decline. With a high risk level, there is a recommendation that gatherings be limited to 15 indoors and 50 outdoors.

"Great job by our community, keep it up, and we'll get there," she said.

One new death was reported Wednesday, bringing the county's total to 93.

Only two Chippewa County residents are now hospitalized from COVID-19-related symptoms, the same as last week, and down significantly from the all-time high of 25. Overall, 71% of hospital beds are in use in the northwest region of Wisconsin, nearly identical to last week's 72% level. In another positive sign, 78% of ICU beds are now in use, a decline from 81% last week.