The Forest County Health Department has received an allotment of Johnson & Johnson vaccine to begin administering next week. This is a one-dose vaccine for individuals 18 and older. For more information and/or to schedule, please call FCHD at (715)-478-3371.
Don’t put away your masks, please! We are vaccinating our population as quickly as possible, but we are not to herd immunity quite yet.
The Supreme Court ruling from March 31 struck down the statewide mask mandate, but it is still very important to wear a mask when in public settings, enclosed spaces, or anytime there is close contact to another person outside of your household that is 6 feet or less.
The Forest County Health Department recommends that people continue to wear masks in public spaces to slow the spread of COVID. If we let our guard down now and COVID continues to spread, it naturally mutates and may lead to variant strains that our current vaccines cannot prevent.
Currently 30.2% of Forest County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine. By April 5th, anyone age 16 and older will be eligible to receive vaccine. We ask for your continued patience and to use masks so that we can get as many people fully vaccinated as possible and to prevent the continued spread of COVID.
Despite our vaccination efforts, there continues to be cases of COVID throughout Wisconsin, including Forest County and neighboring counties. Please consider your health and the health of those around you by following the proven safety measures to keep our community safe. Wearing a mask protects us all.
The Forest County Health Department continues to receive weekly allocations from the State of Wisconsin of the Pfizer vaccine to aid in the response to the current pandemic. As of March 30th 2021, there have been 2,753,146 vaccines administered across the State of Wisconsin. In Forest County, 30.1% (2,707) of our residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 23.1% (2,078) have completed the vaccine series. For current vaccination data for Wisconsin and Forest County please visit: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/vaccine-data.htm#summary .
On March 30th, Governor Tony Evers, with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announced that everyone ages 16 and over will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting April 5, 2021. While everyone will be eligible starting April 5, vaccine providers will prioritize anyone previously eligible such as public-facing essential workers and people with medical conditions. Please realize that there may be waitlists.
In Forest County, there are many options available for getting vaccinated including local and tribal health departments, community based vaccination clinics and healthcare providers. To find a local vaccine provider visit the COVID-19 vaccine provider map or visit https://vaccinefinder.org. Currently, the Pfizer vaccine is the only COVID-19 vaccine authorized for individuals age 16 and 17.
“We have built-up a strong network of vaccine providers across the state. Every community is different, some providers may have openings and others may have waitlists but I assure you that anyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get one in the coming weeks,” said DHS Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake. “We appreciate everyone’s patience as we work to reach 80 percent community immunity in Wisconsin.”
We will continue to share more information about vaccine availability as it becomes available from DHS.
To continue to keep residents of Forest County safe and healthy, please continue using good infection control habits such as washing your hands, wearing a mask in public, avoiding large crowds, and staying home if you are sick and getting tested. If you are interested in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, please call The Forest County Health Department at 715-478-3371.
The Forest County Health Department is currently helping to provide COVID-19 vaccine to eligible individuals as determined by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). This includes:
• Frontline healthcare personnel
• EMS
• Those who provide direct patient service or other healthcare services
• Law enforcement/Fire personnel
• Anyone 65 and older
• Educators and child care
• Individuals enrolled in Medicaid long-term care programs including Family Care, Family Care Partnership, IRIS, Wisconsin’s Children’s Long-term Support Waiver, and Katie Beckett
• Some public facing essential workers including 911 operators, utility and communications infrastructure, public transit, and food supply chain
• Non-frontline essential health care personnel
• Congregate living facility staff and residents including employer-based housing, housing serving the elderly or people with disabilities, shelters, transitional housing, and incarcerated individuals
Wisconsin DHS has announced that individuals age 16 and older with certain medical conditions will be eligible for the vaccine beginning March 29th, 2021. These medical conditions are associated with an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and includes:
• Asthma (moderate-to-severe)
• Cancer
• Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain)
• Chronic kidney disease
• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
• Cystic fibrosis
• Down syndrome
• Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
• Hypertension or high blood pressure
• Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant, blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
• Liver disease
• Neurologic conditions, such as dementia
• Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30-39 kg/m2)
• Overweight (BMI of 25-29 kg/m2)
• Pregnancy
• Pulmonary fibrosis (having damaged or scarred lung tissues)
• Severe Obesity (BMI 40 kg/m2 or more)
• Sickle cell disease
• Type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus
• Thalassemia (a type of blood disorder)
You can learn more about Wisconsin’s vaccination planning and eligible groups at https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/vaccine-about.htm
The Forest County Health Department continues to receive weekly vaccine allocations from the state. Individuals are then scheduled based on that allocation and their eligibility.
FCHD has provided 1,531 COVID vaccines as of March 12th, 2021.
If you are interested in receiving the vaccine, please call our office at 715-478-3371 to be added to our waitlist. You can also contact your healthcare provider or local pharmacy to ask about vaccine availability.
The Forest County Health Department is currently helping to provide COVID-19 vaccine to frontline healthcare personnel, EMS, those who provide direct patient service or other healthcare services, law enforcement, fire personnel, and anyone 65 and older.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has announced the following groups to be eligible starting March 1st, 2021:
We will continue to share more information about vaccine availability for other individuals and as it becomes available from DHS. You can learn more about Wisconsin’s vaccination planning and eligible groups at https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/vaccine-about.htm
FCHD is currently receiving weekly vaccine allocations from the state. Individuals are then scheduled based on that allocation and their eligibility. FCHD has provided 718 COVID vaccines as of February 19th, 2021.
If you are interested in receiving the vaccine, please call our office at 715-478-3371 to be added to our waitlist. You can also contact your healthcare provider to ask about vaccine availability.
Please continue to practice every day preventative measures including:
