Evers: Wisconsinites With Certain Medical Conditions Now Eligible To Get Vaccinated March 22

Wisconsinites with certain medical conditions are now eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19 starting March 22, one week earlier than previously anticipated, according to an announcement from Gov. Tony Evers Tuesday.

“Our vaccinators across the state are doing great work to get folks vaccinated and get this done, and because of their good work, Wisconsin continues to be a national leader in getting shots in arms,” Evers said in a press release. “Moving up eligibility for this critical group will help us get over the finish line and sooner, and get us back to our Wisconsin way of life.”

The eligibility group of adults 16 years or older with medical conditions — including cancer, diabetes and asthma, among others — remains the same as was previously announced.

The Evers administration moved up the rollout of the next phase of vaccinations in light of increased vaccine supply and greater availability of vaccination appointments, according to the release.

The vaccination news comes as new reports of COVID-19 are trending slightly up in Wisconsin, despite remaining low overall, based on the latest data published by the state Department of Health Services.

DHS reported 480 new cases of the disease Tuesday, bringing the average for the past seven days to 439 daily cases. One week ago, the average was 391 daily cases.

There were 1,132 negative tests reported Tuesday.

A total of 2,043,125 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered in Wisconsin as of Tuesday, with 41 percent of Wisconsinites age 65 and up fully vaccinated.

As of Tuesday, 721,389 people in Wisconsin, or 12.6 percent of the population, have been fully vaccinated.

Increasing rates of vaccination have provided a sense of hope after a yearlong pandemic that has claimed the lives of 6,539 people in Wisconsin. There were three new deaths from COVID-19 reported Tuesday.

Other DHS data from Tuesday include:

• 570,412 total cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
• 3,243,093 total tests administered, 2,672,681 of which have been negative since the pandemic began.
• 26,889 people have been hospitalized because of the disease, or 4.7 percent of all positive cases, since the pandemic began.
• Daily testing capacity remains at 59,273, though only 1,612 new test results were reported Tuesday.

Coronavirus rates vary from county to county. In order to track COVID-19 activity levels, DHS looks at the number of new cases per a county’s population over a 14-day period — and whether there’s an upward or downward trend in new cases. Activity levels range from “critically high,” “very high,” “high,” “medium,” to “low.”

As of Wednesday, DHS data showed the state had no counties with “critically high” or “very high” levels of COVID-19 activity. The majority of Wisconsin counties have “high” levels of activity. There are growing case trajectories in Waupaca, Marinette, Wood, Douglas, Waushara, Juneau and Iowa counties. Wisconsin’s overall COVID-19 activity level is “high.”

For more about COVID-19, visit Coronavirus in Wisconsin.