Door County COVID-19 Vaccine Update: Hospital, Public Health Vaccine Signup Portals Open

THURSDAY, JAN. 21

Door County Public Health announced it will launch its vaccine portal for individuals over age 65 on Thursday, Jan. 21. Read more>>

TUESDAY, JAN. 19

The State of Wisconsin has released further guidance regarding phase 1B. All individuals 65 and older may begin receiving Covid vaccinations Jan. 25.

Door County Medical Center announced Tuesday that it is prepared to begin vaccinating individuals 65 and older the week of Jan. 25. There will be an online form available at www.dcmedical.org Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 3 pm for those who meet the 1B criteria.

All individuals who meet the criteria should fill out the online form and a DCMC representative will contact them to schedule a vaccination. 

MONDAY, JAN. 18

Approximately 1,502 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given to the majority of healthcare workers and long-term care residents who wanted the vaccine, according to Door County Public Health, Door County Medical Center (DCMC) and local pharmacies.

All three have worked together to deliver the first round, or Phase 1A, of healthcare personnel and long-term care residents. Second doses will be given in three to four weeks. 

The State Department of Health Services determines who is eligible for each phase of the vaccine rollout. Those directions must be followed in order for the organizations to remain eligible to receive ongoing doses. 

According to the state’s latest update sent Friday, Phase 1B of vaccinations will begin Monday with police and firefighters. 

The State Disaster Medical Advisory Committee (SDMAC) has made their initial recommendations for Phase 1B (listed below). These recommendations are now available for public comment. More information on the recommendations, including instructions on how to provide public comment, can be found on the SDMAC webpage.

Phase 1B Proposed populations include public-facing essential workers such as first responders, educators, non-frontline health care worker, people age 70 and older, people in congregate living settings, and employees of mink farms.

Vaccine Updates from Door County Medical Center>>
Vaccine Updates from Door County Public Health>>

“Once we are given the direction of who is eligible, we work to determine the number of vaccines we need, and one or both DCMC and public health can request doses,” said Joe Krebsbach, Door County Health and Human Services Director. “Vaccine can be ordered weekly and must be used within the time frame designated by the state, generally less than one week.”

That process has slowed the rollout in Door County, said DCMC CEO Brian Stephens. Stephens said the hospital finished vaccinations of everyone eligible in Phase 1A almost two weeks ago, but has been awaiting clearance to expand its efforts as other areas of the state work to catch up. The state is about halfway through getting all those in the 1A category immunized, Krebsbach said. 

Local organizations don’t control how much vaccine it will receive, when it will receive it, or even which vaccine they receive. To date, both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have been used in Door County.   

Public Health hosted its first vaccination clinic for home health care workers Wednesday, Jan. 13. 

“We know that law enforcement and fire protection staff will be the next group eligible beginning on Jan. 18,” he said. “We have seen a preliminary list of individuals who will be included in Phase 1B but we are waiting for specific eligibility criteria to be finalized. When we receive those directions, we will continue to work with those eligible to administer the vaccine as quickly as we are able.” 

A vaccination campaign of this magnitude has never happened before. “We want you to know that the partnership between Door County providers has been outstanding and we are confident we will continue to provide vaccines as efficiently and quickly to the community as we can,” Krebsbach said. “We will try to provide a brief weekly update as we go.”

DHS has an email newsletter about the COVID-19 response and vaccine rollout that will be sent out via email every Friday. Register to get updates here>>