The Kosciusko County Board of Health heard an update on COVID-19 vaccines and county death statistics.
County Health Officer Dr. William Remington said an annual report by the University of Wisconsin ranked Kosciusko County 20th in its health rankings. The county is ranked among the healthiest in the state. The county’s robust influenza vaccinations and low child poverty were points in the positive column.
Some negatives to work on, Remington said, include the adult smoking and obesity rate, along with the number of uninsured residents and high school completion rate. The flu vaccination rate for the county was 51%; children in poverty were reported at 11% as compared to the state’s average of 15%; uninsured residents accounted for 11%; and high school completion rate was 86%, compared to the 89% state average, according to the report.
Remington also updated the Board on the local COVID-19 situation, saying between natural infection and those who have been vaccinated, probably about half of the adult Kosciusko County population has been exposed. Remington also said 23% of those 16 and older have been fully vaccinated, and 31% of 16 and older have had at least one dose.
The Kosciusko County Health Department receives 1,600 Moderna vaccines a week, and the KCHD clinic has administered nearly 17,000 doses since it began Jan. 11. A huge part of being able to pull that off, Remington said, is thanks to the small staff but large amount of volunteers. Since Jan. 11, medical and nonmedical volunteers have put in more than 2,500 hours at the clinic.
A state-run pop-up vaccine clinic is at Center Lake Pavilion through Saturday to administer 400 first-round Pfizer shots from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Appointments are required, and a second-dose clinic will return May 10-15.
In other matters, KCHD Administrator Bob Weaver provided a breakdown of the county’s death statistics for the past four years.
Some notable numbers included were unintentional drug overdoses in 2017 were reported as 15, five in 2018, six in 2019 and up to 11 in 2020. The suicide death numbers in 2020 were reported at 10, compared to seven in 2017, and nine in both 2018 and 2019. In 2020, 40 people died of pneumonia, compared to 27 in 2017, 16 in 2018 and 17 in 2019. Remington said COVID-related deaths were not specified in the tabulation, but to date, 114 people have died in Kosciusko County due to COVID complications.
The next Board of Health meeting is 6 p.m. July 19 at the old courthouse.
