Ozaukee County tops 50% vaccination mark

More than half the eligible residents of Ozaukee County have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccination, the Washington Ozaukee Board of Health learned Friday.

Just more than 53% of the county’s residents had received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared to 40% of Washington County residents, interim Health Officer Kim Buechler said.

That number is expected to increase as the Public Health Department works with schools to vaccinate children and to set up clinics for the public throughout the county, Buechler said.

“That’s very exciting for our community,” Buechler said. “We’re hoping a lot of parents and children take advantage of that.”

And that, she said, will help the county “continue on the downward trend as more people get vaccinated.” 

The Food and Drug Administration last week approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine  for adolescents as young as 12 years old. It is the only Covid-19 vaccine approved for that age group.

The Pfizer vaccine will be available from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 20, at Concordia University School of Pharmacy in Mequon.

According to the department website on Tuesday, 10% of county residents ages 12 to 15 had received at least one dose of the vaccine and 41% of the county’s 16 and 17-year-olds had received one dose.

Board Chairman Don Kriefall also noted that the “vast majority” of the county’s at-risk population has been vaccinated.

According to the website, 88% of residents aged 65 and older have received the vaccine and 71% of those ages 55 to 64.

Buechler noted the department is aiming to hold these clinics at public libraries — one was held Monday at the Niederkorn Library in Port Washington — and will continue a vaccination campaign on social media, hoping residents will share their stories of why they decided to be vaccinated.

Noting that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week revised its guidelines, telling fully vaccinated people they can go without a mask indoors and outdoors — except where masks are required — Buechler said that the department is reconsidering its guidelines.

The department typically follows the CDC recommendations, she said.

“It’s good news,” she said of the CDC policy change. “It means more people are getting vaccinated.”

The county is not the only entity considering its mask policy.

The City of Port Washington earlier this  year enacted a mask mandate for city buildings that was to expire when herd immunity, defined as when 70% of the population is fully vaccinated, was reached.

City Administrator Tony Brown said Tuesday that officials are looking at the policy in light of the CDC’s new guidelines. The issue is expected to be discussed by the Common Council at its Tuesday, June 1, meeting.