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Oneida County Health Department Encourages People to Make COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments

Iron Mountain VA Medical Center

 
Oneida County Health Department Director Linda Conlon is proud of the vaccination effort in the county.

Nearly 45% of residents have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine which is above the state average of 37%.

“We’re pretty happy about that,” said Conlon.

She also impressed with the 65 and older age group getting nearly 83% vaccinated.

“We have exceeded our expectations. All of us that our vaccinating the health department, our health care providers, and pharmacies I think have done a great job outreaching and getting our 65+ population vaccinated. Now we’re setting our focus on our younger population,” said Conlon.

Everyone 16 and older in Wisconsin is eligible to get the vaccine.

The Health Department can vaccinate about 500 people at one of its clinics, but recently they haven’t been full.

Conlon encourages everyone who wants a vaccine to sign up. She says she’d like to see at least 70% of Oneida County’s population get vaccinated.

“I think because vaccine was limited in the past that people may be concerned or worried that there isn’t any vaccine available right now and they may be waiting, but we do actually have some appointments available on Thursday and Saturday. So anyone that wants a vaccine can certainly get one,” said Conlon.

You can schedule an appointment on the Oneida County Health Department website. Time slots throughout the day are available.

The clinics on Thursday and Saturday are with the Moderna vaccine.

Like many vaccinators across the state, the Oneida County Health Department canceled its Friday COVID-19 vaccine clinic as well as some on-site workplace vaccinations it had planned. Those vaccinations were going to be with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

That vaccine has now been put on pause while the FDA looks into a rare adverse effect of it.

Health Department Director Linda Conlon says it’s been allotted 12-hundred doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.600 of those doses have already been administered.

“It is a significant amount of vaccine, however, we do feel that we have enough Moderna for anybody who is interested in receiving a vaccine,” said Conlon.

Health officials want people who have gotten the Johnson and Johnson vaccine in the last three weeks to report severe symptoms. They include severe headaches, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath.

“We also have to remember that reaction to the Johnson and Johnson such as these are very rare, but we do want people to be aware of symptoms and to connect with their healthcare provider if they have any of those symptoms within the last three weeks,” said Conlon.

So far, there’s only been 6 reported cases of the blood clots from the nearly 7 million doses of J&J that have been administered in the US.

Katie Thoresen is WXPR's News Director/Vice President.
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