Iron County tops 1,000 COVID vaccinations

By RICHARD JENKINS

rjenkins@yourdailyglobe.com

Hurley — More than 1,000 people in Iron County have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine as local health officials continue to work to combat the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

As of Wednesday, 1,090 people — or 19.2% of the the county — have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to information on the state of Wisconsin’s COVID-19 website, giving it one of the highest vaccination rates in the state. The number includes 43.7% of the the county’s residents age 65 and over.

Three hundred and two people in Iron County, or 5.3%, had received both doses as of Wednesday, although that number will rise as data from Thursday’s vaccination clinic is added to the state’s numbers.

The health department has been holding weekly vaccination clinics since they started receiving vaccines.

Iron County Health Officer Katie Hampston said she’s pleased with how the county’s distribution is going.

“I think we wish we could get more vaccine so we could just get it done, but I think that’s everybody’s desire right now,” Hampston said.

She said the county’s shipment of vaccines for initial dosages of this week was delayed due to weather, meaning it is expected to arrive next week. Hampston said the double shipment means the department hopes to provide 320 second doses and 200 initial vaccinations next week.

The health department is vaccinating as many people as they can, but they are limited by the number of vaccines they receive.

“Our requests aren’t fulfilled, and that’s normal,” Hampston said. “The demand is far exceeding the supply.”

So far the vaccination clinics have been held at the Memorial Building.

“We’ve kept it here just because of safety and logistics. We pull in quite a few community volunteers for (the clinics) and then being close to the hospital in case there was some sort of problem and close to the office just for transporting vaccine,” Hampston said.

She credited all the volunteers and organizations who have come together to help make the clinics a success and said there has been a lot of local cooperation and partnerships, including with Aspirus Ironwood Hospital.

She explained the health department was able to help the hospital provide some locals with their second vaccine shots when the hospital had logistics issues receiving vaccines and the health department had extra vaccines due to people not making their appointments for various reasons.

Iron County has had 524 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and an additional 116 probable cases over the course of the pandemic, according to Wednesday’s state data, including 39 deaths.

Gogebic County has had 910 confirmed cases and 336 additional probables over the course of the pandemic, according to Wednesday’s update of Michigan’s coronavirus data, including 46 deaths.

Ontonagon County has had 356 confirmed cases, 52 probables and 20 deaths, according to state data.

Gogebic County has had 3,447 doses of the vaccine administrated, as of an update of state data Tuesday, while Ontonagon County has had 1,941 doses administrated.

Even as the vaccine is being distributed, health officials stressed that people need to continue social distancing, wear masks and frequently wash their hands — especially as new variations of the virus are being found.