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Weekly Update: August 9, 2021
Vaccination is Key to Protecting Yourself and Your Community
We are seeing a steady increase of COVID-19 cases here in Wisconsin, the 7-day average of new confirmed cases has increased 40% over the past week, and is 11 times higher than it was a month ago.
As the spread of COVID-19 increases in Wisconsin, so does the risk that new, potentially more dangerous variants will develop. While the vaccines are doing their job—which is to protect us against severe illness, hospitalizations, and death from COVID-19—the Delta variant is much more contagious and is spreading rapidly among people who haven’t yet gotten vaccinated. The sooner people get vaccinated against COVID-19, the less opportunity there is for the virus to keep mutating.
That is why getting vaccinated is the most important step you and your eligible family members and friends can take to protect yourself, your loved ones, and fellow Wisconsinites. If you have not taken that step yet, please visit vaccines.gov to find a vaccine provider near you or call 211.
Need a ride to your COVID-19 vaccination appointment? Call 211 or 877-947-2211 to learn about transportation services in your community.
Going to the Wisconsin State Fair? Get your Vaccine and a Free Cream Puff
DHS is partnering with the Wisconsin State Fair to hold an on-site COVID-19 vaccine clinic for the duration of the fair. The vaccine clinic will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. from August 5 through August 15. People vaccinated at the on-site clinic will receive a voucher for a free cream puff redeemable at the Cream Puff Pavilion. Fair admission is required to access the vaccination clinic. Don’t forget to bring a mask! Find additional vaccination opportunities at vaccines.gov or by calling 211 or 877-947-2211.
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Reminder: Masks Provide an Extra Layer of Protection
While vaccination is the most important layer of protection against COVID-19, with the high level of disease transmission in Wisconsin, DHS is urging everyone to add more layers of protection such as masking up indoors, staying home when feeling sick, and getting tested for COVID-19.
If you are feeling ill or if you may have been exposed to someone that has tested positive for COVID-19, visit our testing page to learn the different ways you can get tested.
DHS Releases New and Updated Resources for Schools to Keep Students Safe
To help keep students and teachers safe during the 2021-2022 school year, DHS launched a K-12 School Testing Program communications toolkit. This toolkit will support school districts and school administrators’ efforts to connect with school staff, families, and communities about the COVID-19 testing opportunities available to them through the schools participating in this program.
DHS has also released an updated version of the Guidelines for the Prevention, Investigation, and Control of COVID-19 Outbreaks in K-12 Schools in Wisconsin, a resource for school administrators and local and tribal health departments to use as they work together to make decisions about layered prevention strategies and to prevent and control COVID-19 outbreaks. The updated school outbreak guidance emphasizes the importance of safe, in-person instruction by providing layered prevention strategies, including promoting COVID-19 vaccination among staff and eligible students, universal mask-wearing regardless of vaccination status, screening testing, and others.
Learn steps you can take to protect your child from COVID-19 by visiting our COVID-19 Resources for Parents and Guardians webpage.
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Are You a School, Employer, or Event Organizer? Host an On-Site Vaccination Clinic!
Summer programs, sporting programs, faith-based, schools, community-based organizations, or community events who want to hold an on-site clinic for a group of individuals ready to be vaccinated, can communicate their interest to DHS by filling out the vaccination clinic matching survey and learn more on the DHS COVID-19 vaccine partner resources webpage. Employers can also hold an on-site clinic for their employees and their families, visit our COVID-19: Businesses, Employers, and Workers webpage to sign up.
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Reducing Barriers to Advance Equity through COVID-19 Vaccination
As part of our $6.2 million grant program to promote vaccine equity, local and tribal health departments, vaccinators, and community-based organizations are finding ways to ensure underserved and historically marginalized populations have the opportunity to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Here are a few examples of the work our partners are doing:
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Health Connections Inc. in partnership with UniteWI and Wisconsin Council of Churches is hosting 20 vaccination events in Milwaukee from the 5th to the 31st of August. Running Rebels, and Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin are also involved in this effort. The times and locations can be found here.
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Voces de la Frontera has one vaccination event coming up in Waukesha. Please see the details below.
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Saturday, August 14th from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in Waukesha.
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Near West Side Partners, City on a Hill, and Neighborhood House of Milwaukee are partnering to host 5 vaccination clinics between August 14th and 26th. Times and locations can be found here.
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Wisconsin Council of Churches’ partner Just Dane has been making headlines, and doing great work with the Dane County jails, including the development of an educational video.
Vaccine Distribution Summary
Check out the latest data on Wisconsin’s vaccination effort. DHS updates the allocated numbers and provider data every Tuesday, and the administered number is updated every weekday at 2 p.m.
COVID-19 by the Numbers
Testing
If you are feeling ill or if you may have been exposed to someone that has tested positive for COVID-19, visit our testing page to learn the different ways you can get tested.
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COVID-19 Resources
Resilient Wisconsin
Resilient Wisconsin has information and resources to help you cope with challenging times. Access services such as hotlines, virtual support meetings, and more.
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Other Languages, Graphics, and Print Materials
DHS materials are available in multiple languages as electronic files you can view online or download and print. You can use these materials at home or for your business. Visit the DHS website to view what resources are available to you.
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Social Media Image of the Week
We encourage folks to download, share, and use this image to promote vaccination in their community. To find more downloadable resources available in multiple languages, visit our COVID-19 Partner Resources webpage.
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Media Briefing
No media briefing held this week.
Social Media
Follow DHS on social media for the most up-to-date information on the COVID-19 response and vaccine rollout.
Newsletter
Looking for previous newsletters? To view past versions of this newsletter, visit the DHS website.
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