Updated: 6:16 PM CST Jan 25, 2021 The coronavirus pandemic forced all of Wisconsin s famous fairs and festivals to hit pause for the 2020 season.Continuing Coverage: Coronavirus in WisconsinWith so many events, festivals, concerts canceled in 2020, many music fans are hoping for a fresh start for this year s Summerfest.Now just five months before Summerfest, COVID-19 continues to plague plans.July 3 headliner Halsey announced she is canceling her tour dates due to health and safety concerns.According to its website, the rest of the headliners like Khalid, Luke Bryan and Dave Matthews are so far still on.Summerfest would not answer WISN 12 s questions Monday about the upcoming concert series. Our team is working closely with civic officials and health care professionals to safely bring live music back to the lakefront, Summerfest said in a statement.After Summerfest comes the Wisconsin State Fair.Officials said none of their concerts have canceled yet and they re cautiousl
Updated: 5:25 PM CST Jan 20, 2021 A Wisconsin advisory committee added groups like teachers, grocery store workers and inmates to the list of those eligible to now receive the COVID-19 vaccine.Continuing Coverage: Coronavirus in WisconsinBut many residents with serious medical conditions have still been left out.The state s vaccine advisory group said some tough calls had to be made and even with that, nearly half of the state s population will be eligible for the vaccine in these first two phases.Phase 1B begins Monday.A 19-member statewide panel had the tough job of deciding who is in it. The state added this week residents age 65 and older. Beyond that, the category included a large segment that had been pressing for inclusion farmers and meat processors. They re close to the public, the public doesn t always follow social distancing or masking expectations, the workers have little or no control over their working environment, they re often in low paying jobs and the
Adding the Phase 1B group to the vaccine rollout has created a mess.Continuing Coverage: Coronavirus in WisconsinHealth departments have fielded thousands of phone calls, typically with the same question: How do I sign up to be vaccinated? The answer is different from county to county. Some counties are waiting for more information about vaccine supply, while others are moving forward and signing up people for shots. My question is, when am I going to get it? an 87-year-old Waukesha County resident said.Wisconsin s announcement that everyone over 65 would be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine left some with more questions than answers. Do you know how you ll sign up for it? WISN 12 News reporter Kent Wainscott asked an 80-year-old Milwaukee County resident. No, I have no idea, he said. “We are getting hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of calls,” Jefferson County Health Officer Gail Scott said. Scott said her staff is already signing up people over 65 who live in that c
Updated: 6:43 PM CST Jan 14, 2021 Wisconsin hospitals are receiving criticism that some non-essential employees are receiving the COVID-19 vaccine before others in Phase 1A.Continuing Coverage: Coronavirus in WisconsinThe decisions were left to the medical groups themselves.WISN 12 asked all of the major medical groups in the area Thursday about their vaccine practices.Some of those include vaccinating hospital volunteers and even those employees working entirely from home.Vaccinations are slowly expanding beyond the first front-line health care workers.Independent radiologist Dr. Malcolm Hatfield shared his concern Tuesday with WISN 12. They re giving it to their employees, their administrators, their billing agents, their it people, people that have no contact with COVID patients are getting the vaccine. I know some of them, he said. What about me? What about my employees? Several medical groups confirmed to WISN 12 they have now offered vaccines to all employees regar
Updated: 5:15 PM CST Jan 13, 2021 Three people who identified themselves as National Guard members caused a vaccine security scare at Froedtert Hospital. Continuing Coverage: Coronavirus in WisconsinThe Tuesday evening incident prompted alerts at other Wisconsin hospitals.It happened just a few weeks after a Grafton pharmacist was arrested for allegedly sabotaging hundreds of COVID-19 vaccines. Froedtert Hospital employees were on high alert when three people who claimed to be with the Wisconsin National Guard walked in and said they were there to pick up vaccines. When Froedtert workers started questioning them, the three people said they were at the wrong hospital and left. It raised some suspicions and Froedtert Hospital called law enforcement and state health officials to investigate.Froedtert Hospital told WISN 12, an investigation has confirmed the individuals are members of the National Guard and were in the wrong location. The scare prompted managers at other area