Iron County Public Health to hold vaccination clinic

By ZACHARY MARANO

zmarano@yourdailyglobe.com

Hurley — The Iron County Health Department is holding a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at their office on 210 5th Ave. in Hurley on Sept. 1. According to an announcement from the health department, anyone older than six months can walk in to receive the Moderna vaccine on this day without scheduling an appointment prior to their visit.

However, the health department encourages people to visit at different times depending on their age. Vaccinations for 12-year-olds and above will be provided from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and for 6-month to 11-year-olds from 2:30 to 3:30.

All doses of the Moderna vaccine will be available at the walk-in clinic in Hurley. Health department staff will offer the initial vaccine, booster shots and additional doses to people who are eligible.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people stay up to date with their vaccines and to take additional precautions at medium and high COVID-19 community levels, particularly as an immunocompromised or high-risk individual. The CDC classifies Iron County, Wisconsin’s community level as “high” as of Aug. 18.

Community levels are based on the rate of new cases per 100,000 people, the new admissions per 100,000 population and the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients in the past seven days.

At high community levels, the CDC recommends that everyone wear a well-fitting mask indoors and in public. To see a list of additional precautions for people at high risk for severe illness at medium and high community levels, check cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/community-levels.html.

The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department in Michigan has not posted their once-weekly updates since late July. According to data provided to the CDC last week, Baraga County has a medium community level, Gogebic has a high level, Houghton has a low level, Keweenaw has a medium level and Ontonagon has a high level.

As of July 26, 2,242 total COVID-19 cases had been reported in Baraga County, 3,682 cases in Gogebic, 8,591 cases in Houghton, 587 cases in Keweenaw and 1,100 cases in Ontonagon, for 16,202 total cases in the western U.P. since the start of the pandemic.

According to the WUPHD’s overall vaccine statistics, 50% of people in Baraga County, 58% of people in Gogebic, 54% of people in Houghton, 63% of people in Keweenaw and 66% of people in Ontonagon have received the initial vaccine. The COVID-19 dashboard on michigan.gov says that 68% of Michigan residents have received the first dose of the vaccine as of Aug. 11.