Kenosha County says 50 percent of residents 65+ have received the COVID vaccine

KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Kenosha County has reached a hopeful milestone. As of Wednesday, Feb. 17, 50 percent of residents 65 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

According to a news release, Kenosha County reached this milestone in just three weeks since the State of Wisconsin opened up vaccine eligibility to all residents 65 and above, Freiheit noted. The statewide rate of at least one dose of the vaccine for this population is presently about 42 percent.

“While we still have a long way to go to reach our herd immunity goal of vaccinating 75 percent of our county’s entire population, we are proud to have already reached half of this most vulnerable population,” Freiheit said. “It’s our aim to get many more 65-plus residents in for vaccine in the coming weeks, before the state opens up vaccination to additional population groups in March. ”To that end, Kenosha County earlier this month opened a call center for vaccine-eligible individuals without internet access to schedule appointments.

Operators are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, at 262-605-6799. Calls can be fielded in English or Spanish. A list of local vaccine providers and links to their online registration systems also remains available on the Kenosha County COVID-19 Response Hub website HERE. 

Kenosha County health officials say, those who have received both doses and are fully vaccinated comprise 3.8 percent of the population, or 6,521 residents. The Kenosha County Public Health COVID Vaccination Clinics have vaccinated more than 8,500 people total to date. In the 65-plus age group, 12,390 Kenosha County residents have received the first dose and1,844 have received both doses. The latter figure represents 7.5 percent of the county’s total65+ population of 24,756.To reach the 75 percent herd immunity goal, 127,500 residents will need to be fully vaccinated.

The groups currently eligible for vaccination in Wisconsin continue to be Tier 1a health care workers, law enforcement officers and emergency medical responders, and all those 65 and above. For a complete list of all those who are now eligible, see the hub website.

“We know that the supply of the vaccine continues to fall short of the considerable demand, but we are hopeful the situation will continue to improve as more doses are made available, more groups become eligible and more providers come online,” Freiheit said. “This will be a long process, but Kenosha County and its health partners are working to move through it as quickly as possible.”