More than 28,000 of Wisconsin’s youngest children receive first COVID-19 shot

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Nearly 9% of children between six months and four years old have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, data from the state Department of Health Services indicated.

The health agency confirmed that it updated its COVID-19 dashboard on Wednesday, Sept. 21, to add vaccine information for the littlest Wisconsinites, as well as booster data for those ages 5-11. The DHS dashboard now updates once a week, on Wednesdays, to keep in alignment with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s data update schedule.

State health officials report 8.9% (28,972) of the youngest Wisconsinites ages 0-4 have received their first shot, while 1.5% (4,964) have completed their vaccine series.

Around 5.6% (27,441) of those ages 5-11 have received a booster shot.

State health officials signed off on allowing children between six months and five years old to get special versions of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in June.

Overall, more than 6 in 10 Wisconsinites have rolled up their sleeves and completed their vaccination series. More than a third of the state’s population has received a booster shot or additional dose.

Just two Wisconsin counties have high COVID-19 community levels Friday, down from eight Wisconsin counties last week that were mostly in the northern region of the state.

This week, both the counties of Lincoln and Wood were the shade of orange that reflects high virus activity. Most of south central Wisconsin has low levels of disease activity, but Dane County showed medium levels.

Health officials reported 1,055 new cases of COVID-19 Friday, keeping the seven-day average at a plateau of 1,021.

There have been 1,637,614 COVID-19 cases confirmed in the state since the start of the pandemic.