WISCONSIN (NBC 26) — Nationwide, COVID-19 cases are on the rise in areas with low vaccination rates, and virtually all patients who are hospitalized are not vaccinated. Here in Wisconsin, those numbers are starting to show as well.
According to the most recent seven-day average from the Wisconsin DHS, the average case number is up to 138, which is up 39% from the previously reported seven-day average of 99 cases.
UW Health Experts are concerned over these numbers since the slow down of people receiving vaccines in Wisconsin.
"I think from a society standpoint, though, if we don't continue to increase our vaccination numbers it just provides opportunity for variants to become more prevalent and potentially more virulent and more severe," said UW Health hospitalist, Dr. Ann Sheehy. "And that is something that we're all very worried about because none of us want to live through what we lived through last year, and so we continue to hope that people will take the time and prioritize getting vaccinated."
Dr. Sheehy also stressed that despite these concerns they are with everyone who wants this pandemic to be over, but they don't want to double back on all the progress that has been made.
"I think the public, and we all want this to be over so badly," said Dr. Sheehy. "We've all, everybody has struggled and suffered in this last past year, and getting back to normal is a huge priority and it feels good to do those normal things. But I think we don't want to risk that, we don't want to put that getting life back to normal at risk. So really the key to getting that sense of security that we're back to normal for good is really hinging on people getting vaccinated."