Patti Wohlfeil, Waushara County Public Health Officer, told the Argus on Jan. 12th that the county has been working on vaccinating the Front Line 1A group and as of last week they had vaccinated 110 with the Moderna vaccine. These include healthcare workers, EMS, First Responders, and residents at Heartland House in Wautoma.
She said that the county is responsible for vaccinating residents at Heartland House, Horizon House, and LEF in Wautoma. She also added that LaClinica and Theda- Care Medical Center – Wild Rose had received vaccines.
Wohlfeil stressed the importance of getting the vaccine as the way we will get ourselves out of this pandemic. She said we need herd immunity and she realizes that there are some that cannot get the vaccine because of allergies, but she encourages everyone that can to be vaccinated when the vaccine is available to them.
“This week alone we had four deaths,” Wohlfeil added. She said that even if you are young and think you will either get a mild case of COVID or not get it at all, consider the vaccine as it will help you and it will help others. She said she had the vaccine, had a sore arm and a little achy for two days and nothing after that. She also said it is important once you have the vaccine to make sure you get the second one after 28 days.
Dr. Mark Cockley, ThedaCare Chief Clinical Officer issued the following statement on ThedaCare’s first phase of the program.
Federal and state authorities call for health care personnel to be offered vaccines in the first phase of the program, starting with hospital workers, emergency responders and long-term care staff. The additional Phase 1a vaccinations are for those at highest risk of COVID-related mortality and includes residents of skilled nursing facilities. These initial efforts will help reduce mortality and protect the infrastructure of health care delivery to provide critical services to our community.
It is important to note that ThedaCare is vaccinating our own team members in this first phase, as well as affiliated physicians, those with privileges at our hospitals, and first responders such as EMTs with ambulance services, Dr. Cockley said.
ThedaCare received its first shipment of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine from Moderna on Dec. 23. It is worth noting they received their shipment from the state nearly two weeks after many other health systems. They have expanded their vaccination sites to include all of their seven hospital campuses. They are developing the best infrastructure possible to help them prepare when the time comes to begin offering the vaccine to the greater community.
Denise Rigden, Family Health LaClinica Operations Director, reported LaClinica received their first shipment of vaccine on Jan. 12th and will begin vaccinating their healthcare personnel this week.
They are working with the State and local public health departments on implementing the state vaccination plan. As of press time there weren’t any specific timeframes for distribution beyond the health care workers and people in long-term care facilities.
Family Health LaClinica is a Community Health Center and a Migrant Health Center and are advocating that the vulnerable patients and migrant and seasonal agricultural workers are prioritized.
Watch for more information in the Waushara Argus, Central Wisconsin Resorter, and social media as the vaccines roll out for other groups.
