By Robert Kennedy
Jan 14, 2021 10:59 AM
KEWAUNEE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Kewaunee County has begun administering its first allocation of COVID-19 vaccines this week.
Starting Tuesday, health officials began administering its 200 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to those in Phase 1A, which includes healthcare providers, fire, police, EMS and skilled nursing facility residents and staff.
“We’ve only received 200 doses of COVID-19 vaccine so far, so we ask for patience. We first need to vaccinate individuals in Phase 1A, like front-line workers before we can vaccinate anyone else,” said Cindy Kinnard, RN, Kewaunee County Public Health Department Director.
“We cannot control how many COVID-19 vaccines we receive and when we receive them, but we can reassure you that as we get them, we will continue to administer them and with each vaccine received and given, we’re one vaccination closer to offering them to the general public. In the meantime, please continue washing hands,
The percentage of tests for COVID-19 coming back as positive, a metric used by many health departments to measure how well a community is fighting the spread of the virus, again rose dramatically in Kewaunee County and remained at a high rate in Door County and the state of Wisconsin during the week from Jan. 5 to 11.
The number of positive tests in each county remained steady in that time, but the rate of positive tests in each county was about one-third of all results: 35.5% in Kewaunee, up from 21.9% for the week ending Jan. 5; and 33.2% in Door, comparable to the 33.7% weekly rate as of Jan. 5. The World Health Organization has said that a positivity rate of more than 5% is concerning because it means testing isn’t widespread enough to capture the spread of the virus among the general population. The counties positive percentage numbers mirror the statewide figure of 34.6%.