Less vaccine, more frustration in county

The Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department’s website crashed on Monday after it was stormed by residents trying to sign up for Covid-19 vaccinations.

Meanwhile, officials with the state Department of Health Services informed Ozaukee County officials last week that the county’s allotment of the vaccine would be cut to 27% of what is requested, promising that frustrations with the vaccine’s rollout will continue.

Port Washington resident Linda Wells, who is 68 and has heart problems, and several of her friends tried to get on the website Monday to sign up to get the vaccine, with each of them attempting to log in every five or 10 minutes, she said.

“Someone finally got on about 11:30 and was told that it was all full,” Wells said. “If the website was down, how did it get filled up? Who did it get filled by and how did they get on?”

Anecdotally, other county residents reported they used a link that had been sent out earlier that went directly to a sign-up form, bypassing the website.

Wells’ experience was especially frustrating, she said, because it came a week after she was told the list was full and that she should check back at 10 a.m. the following Monday.

She also received no help from her doctor’s office, part of the Ascension Hospital network, which told her they had no vaccine and that she should contact the county.

“We’re just blocked out. There’s no where to go,” Wells said. “I would be on the high priority list but it doesn’t get you anywhere.”

Ozaukee County Administrator Jason Dzwinel said he is also frustrated.

“The web-based registration process is being reviewed, but ultimately the solution is not better websites, it is increasing vaccine supplies in Ozaukee County,” he said in an email. 

“I share in every resident’s exasperation and anger in the lack of availability of vaccines to the eligible populations. The county and the local health care systems are all being constrained by the available supply, which is far below the public’s demand.

“If I was told that I needed to drive to Madison, Green Bay or Superior to pick up available vaccine, I would jump in my vehicle immediately to personally bring it back to Ozaukee County.”

At the county Executive Committee meeting on Monday, County Board Chairman Lee Schlenvogt blamed the state for the situation.

“The state has clearly underperformed” during the pandemic, he said. “First they couldn’t find PPE (personal protective equipment), then they couldn’t help us with testing. We can only vaccinate with what we get from the state.”

While county health officials had at first been getting most of the vaccine they requested each week, this week it received less than half and county officials were told the flow of vaccine was going to only worsen.

“The DHS (state Department of Health Services) informed the county last week that we should expect 27% of the requested number of doses, thankfully they were able to provide 46%,” Dzwinel said. “Perspective is very important, however. That is only 600 to 650 doses.”

While the 1A group, which includes frontline healthcare workers and most law enforcement, has largely been vaccinated, the much larger 1B group seems to have overwhelmed the system.

The 65-and-older group alone numbers about 11,000 people in the county.

“The state DHS expects the county health department to vaccinate about 15% of county residents in total, with the health care systems and local pharmacies vaccinating the other 85%,” Dzwinel said.

It’s unknown how many doses of vaccine hospitals and pharmacies are receiving each week.

An Advocate Aurora Health spokesman said it is contacting its 65-and-older patients directly to let them know when it’s their turn to make an appointment for a vaccination.

Patients are prioritized by age, health condition and other factors, he said.

On Tuesday, Ascension Wisconsin Medical Group held its first vaccination clinic for patients aged 65 and older at Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital Ozaukee in Mequon.

  Officials with the Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department did not return requests for comment by press time.

The county’s 5,000 or so teachers and school staff plus an unknown number of “essential workers,” such as those in the food industry, are expected to begin receiving vaccinations on March 1, according to the health department’s website. 

Vaccine registrations will continue to be available online at 10 a.m. each Monday “and will remain open until all appointments are full.”

Wisconsin has ranked among the slowest states in getting vaccine out to its citizens,  with just 7.4% of the state receiving one shot, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control 

Statewide, more than half a million Wisconsinites have received at least one of the two required inoculations. Just over 100,000 have received both shots.

The DHS said that 20% of those 65 or older have received at least one shot.

Wisconsin Public Radio reported Monday that some seniors have been able to be vaccinated more quickly in other states through their health care systems.  

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, there were 181 active cases of Covid-19 in Ozaukee County, continuing a months-long decline since 1,300 cases were recorded in late November.

On Monday, the state reported fewer than 2,000 new coronavirus cases for the 10th day in a row, with just 750 positive test results, the lowest one-day total outside of a holiday period since Sept. 8, the Associated Press reported.

To register for a vaccination, visit bookwophd.timetap.com.

For more information, go to www.washozwi.gov.