Today we highlight a Washington Post profile of a law firm connected to the anti-vaccine movement — part of a network that has challenged coronavirus vaccine mandates nationwide, including at a Rock County, Wisconsin-owned nursing home that’s now weighing whether to lift the mandate.
Tag: Coronavirus
Wisconsin Watch’s reporters and editors are investigating state and local impacts of the global pandemic and issues related to quality of life in Wisconsin. This page groups together all our original reporting, as well as our roundups of news from around the state and nation.
Posted inWisconsin COVID-19 Update
The pandemic worsened homelessness in Wisconsin. Advocates push for solutions — 5/25/21
Wisconsin was already struggling to address homelessness before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the public health crisis only worsened the challenge. Now, advocates are calling for lawmakers to invest in solutions, according to the Cap Times.
“But it appears the widespread action and funding commitments advocates are hoping for won’t be found in Wisconsin’s next budget,” Briana Reilly reports. “Republican lawmakers on the Legislature’s powerful Joint Finance Committee last week opted to increase funding for a housing assistance program by $1.2 million over the next two years — a fraction of the tens of millions of dollars in funding Gov. Tony Evers sought for affordable housing and aid for the homeless.”
Posted inWisconsin COVID-19 Update
Wisconsin health official: Vaccine slowdown means delayed herd immunity — 5/24/21
COVID-19 infections and deaths in Wisconsin continue to ebb as more residents get vaccinated, but the state may not reach herd immunity until fall — rather than this summer, a top state health leader told the Associated Press. Department of Health Services Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk earlier this spring said that Wisconsin could vaccinate […]
Posted inWisconsin COVID-19 Update
Just over half of Racine police vaccinated — 5/21/21
The Journal Times reports that the vaccination rate in the Racine Police Department is 51% — much lower than the overall 66% rate among city employees. Reporters Dee Hölzel and Adam Rogan found that nationally, COVID-19 has been the biggest cause of on-duty deaths of police officers in 2020 and 2021.
Posted inWisconsin COVID-19 Update
Trauma continues for Wisconsin health ‘heroes’ on front lines of pandemic — 5/18/21
As life begins to return to normal for many Wisconsinites, negative effects of the pandemic linger. Health care workers who witnessed thousands of their fellow residents suffer and die from COVID-19 are now struggling with the trauma of that experience, writes Madeline Heim of the Appleton Post-Crescent.
Posted inWisconsin COVID-19 Update
Vaccinated Madison woman with underlying conditions dies of virus — 5/18/21
As communities across Wisconsin lift their pandemic orders, David Wahlberg of the Wisconsin State Journal reports on a fully vaccinated 75-year-old Madison woman with underlying health conditions who has died from COVID-19.
Posted inWisconsin COVID-19 Update
CDC study: UW-Madison dorm outbreaks did not fuel community spread — 5/17/21
A team of scientists found little evidence that outbreaks in two University of Wisconsin-Madison dorms fueled further spread of COVID-19 into the community, Kelly Meyerhofer of the Wisconsin State Journal found.
Posted inWisconsin COVID-19 Update
Wisconsin cities, counties, businesses rethinking mask rules, capacity limits — 5/14/21
Communities across Wisconsin are re-evaluating public health orders after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Thursday that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks inside or out, or to distance themselves from others.
Posted inWisconsin COVID-19 Update
Vaccinated against COVID-19: Time to go back to normal? — 5/13/21
On Thursday, federal health officials announced that fully vaccinated people could largely put away their masks and dispense with social distancing — indoors and out. But large swaths of the U.S. population still are not vaccinated, including children ages 12 to 15 who are newly eligible to receive the shot.
Posted inWisconsin COVID-19 Update
Wisconsin venues set rules for reopening as pandemic eases — 5/12/21
As new COVID-19 cases decline and vaccination rates slowly rise, major institutions in Wisconsin are welcoming people back — but with conditions. Lawrence University plans to require students to be vaccinated, reports Kelly Meyerhofer of the Wisconsin State Journal.
Posted inWisconsin COVID-19 Update
Pandemic accommodations turn political at Wisconsin Capitol — 5/11/21
Molly Beck of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the leader of the state Assembly in early April rejected an immunocompromised lawmaker’s request to work virtually, responding that COVID-19 is not airborne — contradicting scientific consensus on how it can spread. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and the Legislature’s human resources director, Amanda Jorgenson, have rejected requests from Rep. Jodi Emerson, D-Eau Claire, to participate in floor sessions and committee hearings from her office.
Posted inWisconsin COVID-19 Update
Wisconsin counties face COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy — 5/10/21
Wisconsin has sharply cut back its request for COVID-19 vaccine doses from the federal government, the Associated Press reports, as some counties here experience high rates of vaccine hesitancy. In Clark County, where the vaccination rate is among the lowest in Wisconsin, the head of immunization says making vaccines more convenient and providing more information to the skeptical may not lead to higher rates.