Wisconsin Health Officials Pushing Wisconsinites to Get Vaccinated

Tuesday, December 27th, 2022 -- 12:00 PM

(By Gaby Vinick, Wisconsin Public Radio) Health officials are pushing Wisconsinites to get vaccinated as COVID-19 bivalent booster rates have fallen short of their goals ahead of the holiday season.

According to Gaby Vinick with Wisconsin Public Radio, the BQ.1.1 and BQ.1 variants of the omicron virus only recently emerged, but taken together, they now account for nearly 70 percent of infections nationwide, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"I've been surprised, or I guess discouraged or frustrated, by how few people have taken the updated booster. We've learned it really does make a big difference," said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, the state's chief medical officer and epidemiologist for communicable diseases.

He emphasized that the COVID-19 vaccine "is not a one-time thing" as people's immunity wanes over time. A recent study by the CDC found that adults 65 and older who received the updated booster a week or more before getting infected were at a 73 percent lower risk of hospitalization than those who received at least two doses of the original vaccines.

"It's always been the case that people who are older have a higher risk of becoming severely ill and dying if they become infected with COVID," Westergaard said. He added that the "disproportionate burden of elderly patients has increased in the past six months, but not dramatically."

Westergaard said a good goal for booster rates for the older age group would be at least 80 percent. While the bivalent boosters have been available for the last few months, only about 42 percent of those 65 and older in Wisconsin have received the updated boosters, compared to about 18 percent of those eligible statewide.

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