As Wisconsin is in the midst of a new surge in COVID-19 cases, more than four in five people are not up to date to receive the maximum vaccine recently available to prevent severe illness.
Recommendations to wear masks when there are large crowds indoors are returning. On Wednesday, the Wisconsin Council of Churches told its 2,000 member congregations in an email that the council “strongly encourages congregations to resume mask-wearing in worship and other gatherings. “An ecumenical organization representing 21 devout Christian traditions and approximately 1 million church members.
Public health officials no longer track the total number of COVID-19 cases, basically because many tests confirming infection are done at home. Still, “all of our surveillance systems imply that we’re at the peak level of COVID-19 activity,” said Tom Haupt, a respiratory disease epidemiologist with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS).
The measures of this increase are accompanied by an increase in hospitalizations and an increase in the number of cases reported to the attention of public health officials.
As of Jan. 6, about 530 people were hospitalized in Wisconsin with COVID-19, DHS reported, and about 13% of those patients were in intensive care. Hospitalizations have increased in four out of the state’s seven health care regions.
Of the COVID-19 lab test results that were reported to DHS, about thirteen percent were positive, Haupt told the Wisconsin Examiner on Thursday. Influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) tests were also positive in about 13 cases, according to 10 percent of cases, he said.
The current surge in COVID-19 cases is a continuation of a surge in the disease that began in August and began to take off after young people returned to school in September, said Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist at the College of Medicine and Services. University of Wisconsin Publics. Medicine. This increase also follows that of other respiratory viruses, their trend is not identical, he added.
“If you have symptoms of a respiratory viral infection, you may not have COVID-19; it can also be the flu or RSV,” Sethi said Thursday. Wherever it’s done, “COVID testing is still useful, because it would be great to know what virus you might be infected with. “
Another sign of the resumption of COVID-19 spread has been the buildup of the virus responsible for the infection discovered in wastewater across the state. According to DHS, 80% of the 40 sites where wastewater is tested showed a “very high concentration” of the virus, SARS-CoV-2.
Scientists have been scouring Wisconsin’s wastewater for COVID-19 ebb and flow symptoms in the state’s communities since 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In recent months, Haupt said, the research has become more systematic with the formation of a team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison State Hygiene Laboratory in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The team performs detailed genomic analyses of virus samples. Wastewater recovery.
The project has added RSV and influenza monitoring to its work and may look at other common viruses as well. The objective is to establish whether the data they collect can be used to better predict increases and decreases in the spread of a virus.
“They’ve put together a smart program that I think will be a style for a lot of other states as well,” Haupt said.
Sethi said the current COVID-19 cases are largely from the latest variant of the virus, labeled JN-1. It emerged after the development of the latest COVID-19 booster vaccine. But JN-1 is a descendant of the strain that was used to develop the newest booster, so the new shot appears to be still effective against the virus, he added.
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However, so far, according to DHS, only 15% of Wisconsin citizens have won the most recent booster shot. Among Wisconsinites 65 and older, the vaccination rate is higher: 41%. Overall, 16. 5% of women won the booster shot, up from 13. 4%. of men.
There are also racial and ethnic disparities: About 15. 3% of white citizens won the booster, compared to 7. 1% of black citizens, 6. 3% of Hispanic citizens, 10. 4% of Asian citizens, and 9. 3% of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Americans. . , Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.
“The vaccination rates have not been as high as we would expect them to be with the COVID booster,” Haupt said. “That’s disappointing.” DHS is “recommending it strongly,” he added.
While the vaccine is a protection against COVID-19 transmission, public fitness experts say its main benefits lie in preventing a more severe reaction to the virus.
“The main reason for vaccinations is to keep you healthy, keep you from seeking medical care, keep you from being hospitalized,” Haupt said. For a person who has gotten the shot and still contracted COVID-19, “the illnesses that they have after vaccination should be very minor compared to those people who have not been vaccinated.”
The state fitness department recommends the RSV vaccine for pregnant women and people over 60 years of age.
Haupt said mask requirements are forecast by DHS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or other federal agencies. However, some hospitals have reinstated universal mask requirements, while other healthcare organizations have limited those requirements to certain spaces. where patients are more likely to suffer from severe disease.
Late last year the CDC told hospitals that they “may want to consider instituting masking requirements,” Sethi said. UW-Health, which operates hospitals and clinics in Madison, now requires people who enter its buildings to mask.
While other people may not tolerate a community-wide masking requirement, Sethi suggested it might be easier to convince them to mask in more specific situations. “I think other people can recognize that hospitals are the place for other people with health issues,” she said. “And in the winter months, there are a lot of people in poor health because they breathe in viruses. »
While he doesn’t expect a requirement, Haupt said DHS continues to masquerade as another health coverage.
“We’ve told other people, ‘Don’t be ashamed to wear a mask,'” Haupt said. The firm also urges others to “do what they can to protect everyone around them, no matter what: sneeze or cough into a tissue, wash their hands frequently, and stay home when someone reports symptoms of illness.
by Erik Gunn, Wisconsin Examiner January 12, 2024
As Wisconsin is in the midst of a new surge in COVID-19 cases, more than four in five people are not up to date to receive the maximum vaccine recently available to prevent severe illness.
Recommendations to wear masks when there are large crowds indoors are returning. On Wednesday, the Wisconsin Council of Churches told its 2,000 member congregations in an email that the council “strongly encourages congregations to resume mask-wearing in worship and other gatherings. “An ecumenical organization representing 21 devout Christian traditions and approximately 1 million church members.
Public health officials no longer track the total number of COVID-19 cases, basically because many tests confirming infection are done at home. Still, “all of our surveillance systems imply that we’re at the peak level of COVID-19 activity,” said Tom Haupt, a respiratory disease epidemiologist with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS).
Measures for this increase are accompanied by an increase in hospitalizations and an increase in the number of cases brought to the attention of public health officials.
As of Jan. 6, about 530 more people were hospitalized in Wisconsin with COVID-19, DHS reported, and about 13% of those patients were in intensive care. Hospitalizations increased in four of the state’s seven sports regions.
Of the laboratory test results for COVID-19 that have been reported to DHS, about 13% have been positive, Haupt told the Wisconsin Examiner Thursday. Tests for influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have also come back positive about 13% of the time, he said.
The current increase in COVID-19 cases is a continuation of an increase in the illness that began in August and started to take off after children returned to school in September, said Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The surge also follows along with other respiratory viruses, although its pattern is not identical, he added.
“If you have symptoms of a respiratory viral infection, you may not have COVID-19; it can also be the flu or RSV,” Sethi said Thursday. Wherever it’s done, “COVID testing is still useful, because it would be great to know what virus you might be infected with. “
Another sign of the resumption of the spread of COVID-19 has been the accumulation of the virus responsible for the infection discovered in wastewater across the state. According to the DHS, 80% of 40 wastewater testing sites showed a “very high concentration” of the virus, SARS-CoV-2.
Scientists have been monitoring wastewater in Wisconsin for signs of COVID-19’s ebb and flow in communities around the state since 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In recent months, Haupt said, the research has become more systematic with the formation of a team from the State Hygiene Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The team performs detailed genomic analyzes of virus samples. recovered from wastewater.
The project has added RSV and influenza monitoring to its work and may look at other common viruses as well. The objective is to establish whether the data they collect can be used to better predict increases and decreases in the spread of a virus.
“They’ve put together a smart program that I think will be a style for a lot of other states as well,” Haupt said.
Sethi said the existing COVID-19 cases are largely due to the newer variant of the virus, called JN-1, which emerged after the progression of the newer COVID-19 booster shot, but JN-1 is descended from the strain that is used to amplify the newer booster, so the new vaccine still appears to be effective against the virus, Added.
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So far, however, only 15% of Wisconsinites have gotten the latest booster, according to DHS. Among Wisconsinites 65 or older, the vaccination rate is higher — 41%. Overall, 16.5% of women have gotten the booster, compared with 13.4% of men.
There are also racial and ethnic disparities: About 15. 3% of white citizens won the booster, compared to 7. 1% of black citizens, 6. 3% of Hispanic citizens, 10. 4% of Asian citizens, and 9. 3% of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Indians. Peoples. Array Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.
“Vaccination rates have not been as high as you would expect with the COVID booster,” Haupt said. “It’s disappointing”. DHS “strongly recommends it,” he added.
While the vaccine is not a guarantee against getting COVID-19, public health specialists say its primary benefit is in preventing a more serious reaction to the virus.
“The main explanation for why getting vaccinated is to stay healthy, to keep you from having to seek medical care, to keep you from having to go to the hospital,” Haupt said. For a user who has been vaccinated and still contracted COVID-19, “the ailments they suffer after vaccination are very mild compared to other people who have not been vaccinated. “
The state fitness department recommends the RSV vaccine for pregnant women and people over 60 years of age.
Haupt said mask needs from DHS, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or other federal agencies are anticipated. Some hospitals, however, have reinstated universal mask requirements, while other health care organizations have limited those requirements to certain spaces where patients are more likely to be at higher risk for severe illness.
Late last year, the CDC told hospitals that they “may establish mask requirements,” Sethi said. UW-Health, which runs hospitals and clinics in Madison, now requires others entering its buildings to wear masks.
While other people may not tolerate a community-wide mask requirement, Sethi cautioned that it might be easier to convince them to mask in more specific situations. “I think other people can realize that hospitals are where those who are in poor health go. “”And in the winter months, a lot of people have health problems and other people find themselves because they breathe in viruses. “
While he doesn’t expect a requirement, Haupt said DHS continues to masquerade as another health coverage.
“We have always said to people, ‘Do not be ashamed to wear a mask,” Haupt said. The agency also urges people to “do what they can to protect everybody who is around them, no matter what” — sneezing or coughing into a tissue, washing hands frequently and staying home when a person is feeling symptoms of illness.
The Wisconsin Examiner is owned by States Newsroom, a network of grant-backed news bureaus and a coalition of donors as a 501c public charity(3). The Wisconsin Examiner maintains editorial independence. Please contact Editor Ruth Conniff if you have any questions: info@wisconsinexaminer. com. Follow the Wisconsin Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.
Associate editor Erik Gunn reports and writes about hard work and economics, fitness policies, and similar topics for the Wisconsin Examiner. He spent 24 years freelancing for Milwaukee Magazine, Isthmus, The Progressive, BNA Inc. and other publications, winning awards for investigative reporting, article writing, media coverage, business writing, and commentary.
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