Almost 80 Percent Of Wisconsinites Age 65 And Up Are Fully Vaccinated

New reports of COVID-19 cases are averaging around 260 cases per day in Wisconsin, based on the latest data published by the state Department of Health Services.

DHS reported 222 new cases of the disease Friday, bringing the average for the past seven days to 261 daily cases. One week ago, the average was 353 daily cases.

As COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin continue to decline, more of the state’s residents are being vaccinated against the disease.

A total of 5,129,266 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered in Wisconsin as of Friday, with 79 percent of Wisconsinites age 65 and up having completed the vaccination series. According to DHS, 18 percent of the state’s 12- to 15-year-olds have had their first doses of vaccine. That age group became eligible May 13.

As of Friday, 2,427,513 people in Wisconsin, or 41.7 percent of the population, have received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second Pfizer or Moderna dose or two weeks after Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.

Increasing rates of vaccination have provided a sense of hope after a yearlong pandemic that has claimed the lives of 7,053 people in Wisconsin. There were four new deaths from COVID-19 reported Friday.

Other DHS data from Friday include:

• 609,787 total cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
• 2.1 percent of COVID-19 tests have come back positive over the last seven days.
• 227 people were in the hospital with COVID-19 as of Thursday, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association.
• Daily testing capacity remains at 59,273, though preliminary data shows over 9,300 people were tested Thursday.

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 “very high,” “high,” “medium,” to “low.”

As of Wednesday, DHS data showed the state had no counties with a “very high” level, while the majority of Wisconsin counties had “high” levels of activity. There were growing case trajectories in one county and shrinking trajectories in 12. Wisconsin’s overall COVID-19 activity level is “medium.”

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