>>> THE WORST THING IN THE WORLD
WE CAN DO RIGHT NOW IS SAY, NO
MANDATE, NO MASK, BECAUSE WE
ARE, AS HAS BEEN SAID HERE,
SEEING SPREAD OF VARIANTS AND WE
NEED TO USE THE MECHANISMS WE
HAVE IN PLACE TO PREVENT SPREAD.
>> THE REAL WORLD IMPLICATIONS
OF RISING COVID CASES AND NO
MORE STATE MASK MANDATE.
WHILE WISCONSIN REMAINS A LEADER
IN THE NUMBER OF VACCINES IN
ARMS, THERE'S A WORRYING TREND
BY WAY OF AN UPTICK IN COVID
CASES AND NEWS THAT THE MORE
INFECTIOUS U.K. VARIANT IS
LIKELY TO BE THE DOMINANT STRAIN
IN WISCONSIN WITHIN THE NEXT TWO
WEEKS.
THIS MEANS THE RACE TO VACCINATE
TO BEAT THE VARIANTS IS URGENTLY
UNDERWAY.
IN A MOMENT WE WILL HEAR ABOUT
CUTTING-EDGE WORK BEING DONE ON
THE VARIANTS AT U.W. MADISON,
BUT FIRST, WE GET AN UPDATE FROM
THE SECRETARY DESIGNEE OF THE
STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
SERVICES, KAREN TIMBERLAKE.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
>> YOU'RE WELCOME.
>> THERE DOES APPEAR TO BE NEW
URGENCY FROM HEALTH OFFICIALS,
NEW CASES HAVE DOUBLED THIS THE
LAST MONTH AND AS MENTIONED THE
U.K. VARIANT IS CHASING US DOWN.
HOW URGENT WOULD YOU DESCRIBE
THE SITUATION WE'RE IN RIGHT
NOW?
>> WE ARE VERY CONCERNED, BOTH
ABOUT THE GROWTH IN POSITIVE
CASES.
WE HAD SEEN A NICE DECLINE IN
OUR POSITIVE CASES FOR A NUMBER
OF WEEKS AND AS YOU POINT OUT,
IT'S NOW REALLY RISING QUICKLY.
IN ADDITION, THE THING THAT'S
IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW
ABOUT THESE NEW VARIANTS IS THIS
IS STILL COVID-19.
IT'S STILL THIS VIRUS THAT WE'RE
FAMILIAR WITH.
THE PROBLEM IS, IT'S A TRICKY
VIRUS AND IT'S CONTINUING TO
MUTATE THEN BECOME MORE
CONTAGIOUS.
SO THE REASON WE'RE PAYING
ATTENTION IS THAT THEY SPREAD
MORE QUICKLY.
SO THAT IS WHY IT'S THAT MUCH
MORE IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO
KEEP WEARING MASKS, KEEP STAYING
PHYSICALLY DISTANT, AND KEEP
YOUR SOCIAL CIRCLES SMALL, AND
GET VACCINATED JUST AS FAST AS
YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO
THAT.
>> WHAT IS THE SITUATION IN
TERMS OF NUMBERS WITH THE SPREAD
OF THESE VARIANTS IN WISCONSIN?
>> SO WE ARE SEQUENCING A
NUMBERS OF CASES EVERY WEEK.
WE OBVIOUSLY CAN'T TAKE A LOOK
AT EVERY SINGLE POSITIVE TEST
THAT WE GET, BUT WHAT WE'RE
SEEING ABOUT HALF OF THE SAMPLES
THAT WE ARE TESTING ARE THESE
NEWVATORS.
AND -- NEW VARIANTS.
SO THAT TELLS US THE VARIANTS
ARE SPREADING VERY WIDELY AND
VERY QUICKLY, BUT AGAIN, THE
MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR PEOPLE
TO KNOW IS IT'S STILL
CORONAVIRUS, WE STILL KNOW MASKS
WORK.
WE STILL KNOW THAT IT'S
IMPORTANT TO GET TESTED WHEN YOU
HAVE SYMPTOMS.
AND WE KNOW THAT THE VACCINE IS
THE BEST WAY TO BEAT THOSE
VARIANTS.
>> SO HAS IT BEEN THE CASE HERE
THAT THE U.K. VARIANT IS TAKING
HOLD IN CHILD CARE SETTINGS AS
WE SAW IN DANE COUNTY AND IN
YOUTH SPORTS ACTIVITIES?
>> IT'S A LITTLE EARLY TO SAY
THAT.
WE CERTAINLY REALLY FOLLOWING
THOSE KINDS OF REPORTS OF
OUTBREAK.
AND THAT'S ALSO WHY IT'S
IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE CONTINUE
TO GET TESTED, SO THAT WE CAN
START TO BETTER ISOLATE AND
UNDERSTAND THE SPREAD OF THE
VARIANT.
BUT I THINK REALLY THE KEY
TAKEAWAY FOR PEOPLE IS THAT
COVID CONTINUES TO BE EVERYWHERE
IN OUR STATE.
IT DOES CONTINUE TO SPREAD.
AND WE HAVE TO KEEP UP WITH OUR
GOOD PREVENTIVE MEASURES.
>> DESCRIBE FOR US IF YOU WOULD
THE LATEST VACCINE AVAILABILITY
AND NUMBERS OF PEOPLE VACCINATED
IN WISCONSIN.
>> THIS IS REALLY A GOOD NEWS
STORY.
JUST SINCE THE MIDDLE OF
DECEMBER, WE HAVE GIVEN MORE
THAN 3.4 MILLION DOSES OF COVID
VACCINE ACROSS OUR STATE.
SO WE'RE NOW AT A PLACE WHERE
ABOUT 36% OF EVERYONE IN THE
STATE OF WISCONSIN HAS HAD AT
LEAST ONE DOSE OF THEIR COVID
VACCINE.
ABOUT ONE IN FIVE PEOPLE, A
LITTLE BETTER THAN ONE IN FIVE
PEOPLE, ARE FULLY VACCINATED.
77% OF OUR SENIORS HAVE GOTTEN
AT LEAST ONE DOSE.
MORE THAN 65% OF OUR SENIORS ARE
FULLY VACCINATED.
AND WE ARE CONTINUING TO OPEN
MORE AVAILABILITY TO VACCINES SO
THIS WEEK WE ANNOUNCED A
PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR FEDERAL
PARTNERS AT FEMA, WHICH WILL BE
ADDING ADDITIONAL STAFF CAPACITY
HERE IN DANE COUNTY.
AROUND THE STATE WE HAVE
COMMUNITY CLINICS IN ROUTE
COUNTY, IN LA CROSSE,
EAU CLAIRE, MARATHON.
SO WE'RE REALLY WORKING HARD IN
ADDITION TO HOSPITALS, CLINICS,
PHARMACIES, ET CETERA, TO MAKE
VACCINE VERY AVAILABLE FOR
FOLKS.
>> SO SOUNDS LIKE WISCONSIN
OBVIOUSLY HAS THE INFRASTRUCTURE
TO GET THOSE, QUOTE, SHOTS IN
ARMS.
WHAT ABOUT THE SUPPLY COMING IN
FROM THE FEDS?
HAS THAT REMAINED STEADY AND
INCREASED?
>> GREAT QUESTION.
SO THE ANSWER IS IT HAS
CERTAINLY INCREASED IN THE LAST
TWO MONTHS OR SO.
WHEN I STARTED BACK AT THE
DEPARTMENT AT THE END OF
JANUARY, WE WERE LOOKING AT
70,000 FIRST DOSES A WEEK.
THIS WEEK WE'RE UP IN THE 180 TO
220,000 FIRST DOSES.
THE CHALLENGE WE'RE ABOUT TO
HAVE, SO FOLKS ARE AWARE, IS
WE'VE BEEN TOLD THAT THE SUPPLY
OF JOHNSON & JOHNSON WAS GOING
TO BE A LITTLE VARIABLE.
AND WE ARE GOING TO SEE A
DECREASE IN JOHNSON & JOHNSON
NEXT WEEK AND PERHAPS THE REST
OF APRIL.
BUT PFIZER AND MODERNA ARE
STAYING CONSISTENT AND SO PEOPLE
NEED TO BE PATIENT AND
PERSISTENT.
SO CALLING OUR TOLL-FREE NUMBER,
CHECKING OUT THE VACCINE FINDER
RESOURCES ON OUR WEBSITE, THOSE
ARE ALL GOOD WAYS TO FIND A
VACCINE.
>> WITH LESS THAN A MINUTE LEFT,
THE CDC JUST ORDERED WISCONSIN I
UNDERSTAND MORE THAN 50 MILLION
DOLLARS TO VAX UNDERSERVED
POPULATIONS.
HOW WILL THAT MONEY BE DEPLOYED
AND WHEN?
>> SO WHAT WE'RE WORKING TO MAKE
SURE WE CAN DO IS GET RESOURCES
OUT INTO COMMUNITIES ALL ACROSS
THE STATE TO MAKE SURE THAT
EVERYONE WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR A
VACCINE HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO
GET ONE.
WE'LL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
OUR LOCAL PARTNERS TO MAKE SURE
THAT WE CAN LIFT UP AVAILABILITY
AND MAKE SURE EVERYONE IS AWARE,
BOTH OF THE FACT THAT THEY'RE
ELIGIBLE TO GET A VACCINE AND
WHERE THEY CAN FIND THOSE
VACCINE RESOURCES.
>> ALL RIGHT.
GREAT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND THANKS
FOR YOUR WORK.