Local health officials are optimistic Wisconsin is on the road to increased supply of the COVID-19 vaccine. They say that’s the only way to get shots in the arms of more high-priority groups. Production is ramping up all over the country on the two vaccines already approved by the FDA and in use. But a new Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected to receive emergency use authorization possibly as early as this weekend. Greenfield Health Director Darren Rausch said additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are necessary to meet demand. “Local health departments expect to receive about 36% of our requested vaccine allocations for next week,” said Rausch. “What that looks like broken down is that the 11 health departments in Milwaukee County anticipate receiving approximately 5,900 doses for next week out of more than 16,000 doses requested.” Currently, the state is still trying to vaccinate the highest risk group — those over the age of 65. But starting Monday, March 1, the state is

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Milwaukee Health Officials Say Increased Supply Is On Horizon To Vaccinate New Priority Groups

A Milwaukee alderwoman wants the city to adopt a “universal basic income” pilot program. The proposal by Ald. Chantia Lewis would supplement low-income families’ wages, so they’re making a living wage. She says cities across the country are beginning to experiment with universal basic income programs, and she wants Milwaukee to do the same. Lewis says she’s modelled her initiative after one in Stockton, California. Under it, the city would put out a call to residents who meet certain qualifications, such as being unemployed or underemployed. Then, they would apply to receive a monthly allowance for an allotted period of time. The city would then choose the participants. “We would select, randomly select, a total of 50 households throughout the city. So, this is 25 lower income folks and then 25 working family households. We would provide them with a monthly stipend for 18 months. So, it’s a $500 18-month program where they would be handheld and walked through because the goal is to

'A Level Playing Field': A Milwaukee Alderwoman's Push For Universal Basic Income In Milwaukee

Wisconsin health officials are creating a statewide COVID-19 vaccination schedule for school employees, in an effort to prioritize underserved communities. Wisconsin Educators And Childcare Workers Next In Line For Vaccine, Beginning March 1 Education and childcare workers are eligible for the vaccine beginning March 1 . Department of Health Services Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk said Thursday that local health departments are submitting school vaccination plans to the state. “We will analyze the plans and plot them out on a master schedule for about the next six weeks or so — about when each school district and health department will be assured they’ll receive vaccine to vaccinate their educators,” Willems Van Dijk said. The state isn’t distinguishing between schools that are open in-person or virtual. But it will prioritize school districts with high numbers of low-income students or students of color. “These are populations of students who, they and their families have

Private School Vaccinates Some Teachers Early, As State Works To Create Equitable Distribution

Updated 12:03 p.m. CST Foxconn and Fisker, a California-based electric vehicle company rebooted after a bankruptcy, announced they've signed a memorandum of understanding to build 250,000 electric vehicles (EVs) per year. The cars would be sold in North America and other parts of the world.

Foxconn Electric Vehicle Speculation Met With Optimism, Skepticism

On Monday evening, Nearby Nature Milwaukee held their second Annual African American Environmental Pioneer Awards celebration to honor people in Milwaukee who are helping to create a healthier and more racially just environment. Sylvia Wilson, program director of Teens Grow Greens , was one of the honorees. LISTEN: Milwaukee Teen Leadership Program Makes Neighborhood Greenhouses Its Home Wilson said when she headed to college she planned to become a lawyer, but she found her passion in working with young people and helping them to flourish. “Wanting to reach back and ensure that people have the resources, the access to knowledge and networks that will assist them into growing and developing into their best selves,” Wilson said. That led Wilson to Teens Grow Greens. With north and south side branches, the nonprofits helps teens grow their organizational and leadership skills by learning the many facets of urban agriculture. When she learned Nearby Nature Milwaukee selected her as an

Black Environmental Pioneers Honored For Their Work In Milwaukee

There's been a shifting of a major COVID-19 vaccination site in the Milwaukee area and more sites are coming — eventually. Some of the locations could help ease racial disparities in vaccinations that include fewer Black and Latino people receiving the vaccine than their percentages in the population. Milwaukee County officials have announced that a county immunization site near Mitchell Airport set up for state-eligible county workers, first responders and law enforcement personnel has moved this week to the Kosciuszko Park Community Center, which is located in a mostly Latino neighborhood on Milwaukee's south side. Dr. Ben Weston is with Milwaukee County Emergency Management. He said the site will also provide shots to vaccine-eligible people, including those over 65 who already receive other county services. "This work at the ‘Kozzy’ Community Center is an example of the targeted outreach that we as a county are doing to address and overcome these disparities. And this is just the

Changes To Milwaukee COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Could Include New FEMA Vaccination Site

Now that close to half of Wisconsinites age 65 and older have received at least one shot, the Department of Health Services is opening eligibility to more people in Phase 1b . It's starting with school and daycare employees – an estimated 225,000 people – who will be eligible March 1. DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk explained in a press briefing Tuesday why teachers are getting COVID shots before some other public-facing workers, like grocery store clerks and bus drivers. “This is a group that is essential,” Willems Van Dijk said. “We want our kids in school. We know a number of districts have been in-person since early in the year, and we know a number of districts are moving in that direction. And we know teachers work every day with a population that is not able to be vaccinated because of their age.” The amount of vaccine Wisconsin receives from the federal government is set to increase to about 115,000 first doses per week, according to DHS. Willems Van Dijk said that

Wisconsin Educators & Childcare Workers Next In Line For Vaccine, Beginning March 1

A Wisconsin researcher has taken on the grim task of looking at how many years, cumulatively, COVID-19 has cut from people's lives. The answer just for last year, and for the U.S. and 80 other countries with good health statistics, is more than 20 million years. The co-authors of the study came up with their lost life metric by subtracting the age of everyone who died of COVID-19 from the life expectancy in the dead person's country, taking gender into account. One of the authors is UW-Madison Political Science Professor Adeline Lo, who calls herself a political methodologist, using statistical tools to study social science questions. "I guess for some of us, who have been tracking the progression of the pandemic, the results are not surprising but sobering,” she says. Lo says while it's common to focus on the percentage of very old people who have died, in Wisconsin only 54% of people who have passed away from COVID-19 are age 80 and up — the lost years metric really comes into play

Wisconsin Researcher Calculates 20 Million Years Of Life Have Been Lost To COVID-19

A few months ago, Wisconsin had one of the highest per capita rates of COVID-19 in the country. Health officials were pleading with people to wear masks, socially distance and practice good hand hygiene. On Monday, the state reported zero COVID deaths and the lowest number of new cases since June. Milwaukee County Emergency Medical Services Director Dr. Ben Weston says the first thing this means is that the community is doing a good job. “The people who are wearing their masks, the people who are physically distancing, the people who are avoiding group settings and certainly those who, when their time comes, are getting vaccinated are doing an outstanding job of driving down our cases, our hospitalizations,” he says. Weston says a big part of it is that people are doing these advised precautions, but nobody can give great answers as to why we see these uptrends and downtrends of COVID and this regionality where certain parts of the country are hit harder than others. But he says he

COVID-19 In Wisconsin: New Strains Could Upend Downward Trend In Cases, Deaths

A three-year battle between solar energy advocates and WE Energies is back before the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, and the state regulatory agency also known as the PSC, wants to hear your thoughts by Tuesday night. WE Energies, based in Milwaukee, has been blocking an Iowa company, Eagle Point Solar, from going ahead with a plan to install and interconnect its solar panels on about a half-dozen buildings owned by the city of Milwaukee, leasing the panels to the city. WE Energies says Eagle Point would be unlawfully acting as a public utility. Renewable energy advocates argue the Iowa firm's proposal is legal because the Eagle Point would provide third party financing and not act as a public utility. During a hearing Feb. 17, Susan Modder of Milwaukee urged the PSC to side with Eagle Point. Modder said third party financing would allow more homeowners and nonprofits to have solar rooftops. "WE Energies needs to encourage, not discourage, their customers to reduce their

Milwaukee-Area Solar Advocates Support Iowa Firm In Dispute With WE Energies

We all know that culturally, there are different ways of communicating. When it comes to Black people, since slavery there has been a reliance on a head nod to communicate safety. To some, it may look like a simple gesture but for Black men especially, it can be a way of saying: “I see you and all is well.” WUWM's LaToya Dennis organized a roundtable conversation with Anthony Courtney, Andre Ellis, Trevis Hardman and Kwabena Antoine Nixon to talk about the head nod. Anthony Courtney founded an organization called My Brothers Incorporated . He describes it as a manhood training program. Courtney is also the eldest, and is respectfully called Baba by the other men. Baba is an African term denoting respect due to one’s age and status in society. Courtney explains the origin of the head nod: “When Black people were planning rebellions, the men on the plantations OK what would take place, they wouldn’t talk. When it was going to go down, they simply [head nod]. They wanted to clarify when

The Head Nod & How It's Used To Communicate Safety Between Black Men

A vaccine milestone has been reached in Wisconsin. More than a million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered. The progress is to be celebrated, according to Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk. “This is really exciting news, and we have a great team to thank for it. We also still need your patience and your perseverance going forward. It will take more time, but everyone in our state will have the opportunity to get vaccinated,” said Willems Van Dijk. She stated that Wisconsin is one of the top states in the nation for vaccine administration, and more than 40% of Wisconsin residents aged 65 or older have received their first dose. “To put that in perspective, it took 48 days for us to administer the first 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine. And it took us only 18 more days to administer the next 500,000 doses and get us over one million. We are on a roll,” she said. The update wasn’t entirely positive. According to Willems Van Dijk,

Wisconsin Passes 1 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Administered

A local health official is questioning whether the state should delay plans to start giving the COVID-19 vaccine to teachers, childcare workers, and other groups on about March 1. Darren Rausch directs the city of Greenfield Health Department. He said many local health directors continue to worry about insufficient supplies of the vaccine, and have communicated that to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Rausch said seniors are the main group targeted to get the vaccine this month, yet barely a third have been able to do so in Milwaukee County. "Only approximately 36% of our seniors in Milwaukee County, age 65 or older, have received one dose of COVID vaccine. This number is far too small. And, it's a bit irresponsible to think about expanding eligible groups, until we can drive this number [up],” said Rausch. Rausch said if the state is unable to meet new demand for the vaccine, a lot of people would be disappointed. "If we expand eligibility, without the availability of

Teacher Vaccinations Could Begin March 1, But Greenfield Health Official Worries About Supply

University of Wisconsin System Interim President Tommy Thompson is directing campuses to plan for a mostly in-person fall semester. Thompson wants campuses to get back to as close to normal as possible, by offering at least 75% of classes fully in-person or hybrid. In pre-pandemic times, he said about 80% of classes were in-person, with the rest online. “I want students to come back and enjoy their college years,” Thompson told reporters Thursday morning. “It’s been tough on the students this year. And I want to make sure we get back to as close to normal as possible.” The coronavirus pandemic forced schools to shift to virtual instruction last March. This school year, some UW campuses, including Madison and Milwaukee, are holding the bulk of classes online. Thompson said he is concerned about more contagious COVID-19 strains circulating. But he hopes vaccination and continued testing will allow campuses to safely reopen. “We want to make sure the testing keeps going, but at the same

UW System Aiming For Fall Semester Be To 'As Close To Normal As Possible'

Nearly one year into the coronavirus pandemic, adults continue to suffer from mental health struggles brought on by the stresses of COVID-19. Job loss and isolation are among those stressors. Some folks are having trouble sleeping and eating, or they’re drinking more, or using other substances to deal with their worries and stress. That’s what health experts had to say on Wednesday during the state’s Black Legislative Caucus panel discussion about rising mental health struggles in communities of color during COVID-19. Kenneth Ginlack said health providers have seen an increase in anxiety and depressive disorder, with four in 10 adults reporting symptoms . Ginlack is the director of outpatient programs for the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division . He highlighted young people as one population that’s struggling: "A larger than average share of young adults ages 18 to 24 report symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder. Compared to all the adults, young adults are more likely to

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