As of April 21, Wisconsin had administered nearly 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, with more than 1.6 million Wisconsin residents or 28.8 percent of the state’s population fully vaccinated. Almost 80 percent of Wisconsinites aged 65 and older have received at least one dose.
All U.S. adults are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in every state. As part of the federal vaccination program, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requires all vaccinators to provide vaccines at no cost, and vaccinators cannot turn away anyone, even if they do not have insurance or cannot provide an ID. With vaccinations proceeding steadily across the country, the CDC on April 2 released its recommendations for fully vaccinated people.
Earlier this month, following federal recommendations, Wisconsin paused its administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after a handful of recipients reported a rare type of blood clot after receiving it. None of those cases were reported in Wisconsin. Before putting it on hold, Wisconsin had administered about 156,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
As of April 21, Wisconsin had administered more than 3.4 million tests for COVID-19 since early 2020. Of those tests, about 592,000 were positive. About 6,720 people with COVID-19 have died in Wisconsin, representing 1.1 percent of all cases. Since the beginning of 2021, the seven-day average of positive tests out of total tests has declined, from 10.2 percent on January 1 to two percent on March 10. It has since risen to 3.4 percent.
All vaccine and testing data are from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). Vaccine appointments can be scheduled using the Wisconsin COVID-19 Vaccine Registry. Employers can apply to partner with DHS and an approved vaccinator to host a vaccine clinic for their employees by following these instructions.
Six State-Run, Community-Based Vaccine Clinics Now in Operation
On April 13, Wisconsin opened its fifth community-based vaccination clinic on the UW-Superior campus. One week later, the state opened its sixth site on the UW-Eau Claire Rice Lake campus in Barron County. The state’s fourth site at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau opened in April, while sites in La Crosse and Racine Counties opened in March and a Rock County clinic opened in mid-February. These sites are operated by AMI Expeditionary Healthcare along with state and local agencies and healthcare providers. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is operating vaccine clinics in Milwaukee, Madison, and Eau Claire.