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The local health department has seen such a "drastic downturn" in demand for the COVID-19 vaccine in Dickinson and Iron counties that it will consider scaling back future clinics, a health official said.
When the vaccine first became available in the region, appointments for the week would fill within a matter of minutes, said Daren Deyaert, director and health officer at the Dickinson-Iron District Health Department. Now, the clinics regularly have openings.
Other local providers of the vaccine -- such as Dickinson County Healthcare System, Bellin Health and The Drug Store -- have seen a similar reduction, Deyaert said.
"I think everybody who has wanted it has gotten it," he said.
That could be a problem, he said, because only one age group -- ages 65 to 74 -- in either county has topped the goal of 70% vaccinated, the threshold thought to be able to establish "herd immunity."
Given the current turnout, if the region reaches 50 to 60% immunized, "we'll be happy," Deyaert said.
Some of the hesitancy is due to not viewing the virus as a serious threat, "which is a shame," he said. Others are reluctant to try a vaccine so quickly developed.
The recent issue of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine apparently triggering a rare blood clot in a handful of people, leading to a pause on administering that vaccine, may feed that reluctance, Deyaert said.
Yet he thinks the J&J vaccine being restored to use Friday will help, as his office has had requests for it because it requires only one shot, while the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines take a second dose.
If local vaccine demand continues to wane, he said the department will look at combining clinics for first and second doses, offering clinics only every other week or having smaller clinics at the DIDHD offices rather than off-site as is done now.
Deyaert strongly encouraged those who have hung back on the vaccine to go ahead and get a shot, pointing out that of the thousands of shots the DIDHD has provided so far, few reactions have been reported and none have been severe.
"Everyone wants to get back to normal. The quicker we can get shots in arms, to herd immunity, the quicker we can get back to normal," Deyaert said.
For the Upper Peninsula, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' coronavirus website Saturday showed 57 new confirmed positives: 20 in Marquette County; nine in Delta County; seven in Chippewa County; five in Houghton County; four in Dickinson and Mackinac counties; three in Iron County; two in Ontonagon County; and one each in Menominee, Schoolcraft and Baraga counties. The only new death was in Dickinson County; the state also removed a new probable death it posted Friday for Delta County.
Using only the state's figures, the Upper Peninsula as of Saturday has had 18,792 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 406 deaths.
Across the U.P., the MDHHS data site Saturday had Keweenaw County at 138 confirmed cases and 31 probable, and one confirmed death and one probable death; Luce County, 172 confirmed cases and 172 probable, one probable death; Schoolcraft County, 288 confirmed cases and 55 probable, four deaths and one probable; Alger County, 306 confirmed, 185 probable and two deaths, four probable; Mackinac County, 379 confirmed cases and 219 probable, three deaths; Ontonagon County, 395 confirmed, 56 probable and 20 deaths, one probable; Baraga County, 547 confirmed cases, 112 probable and 33 deaths; Iron County, 920 confirmed cases and 65 probable, 42 deaths and nine probable; Gogebic County, 997 confirmed cases and 359 probable, 22 deaths and 28 probable; Chippewa County, 1,008 confirmed cases and 1,324 probable, and 27 deaths, five probable; Menominee County, 1,721 confirmed cases, 309 probable and 39 deaths, two probable; Dickinson County, 2,335 confirmed cases and 306 probable, 57 deaths and 16 probable; Houghton County, 2,416 confirmed cases, 597 probable, 32 deaths and eight probable; Delta County, 3,128 confirmed cases and 611 probable, 68 deaths and 19 probable; and Marquette County, 4,042 confirmed cases, 771 probable and 56 deaths, one probable. State numbers are updated almost daily but can lag behind local reports or have other discrepancies.
The MDHHS on Saturday posted 4,698 confirmed new coronavirus positives in Michigan for a total to date of 819,320. The state Saturday recorded 121 deaths attributed to the virus -- including 91 that happened earlier but recently were verified through vital records and testing, according to the MDHHS -- to reach 17,289.
The state no longer updates its COVID-19 figures on Sundays.
For Wisconsin counties in the region, the state Department of Health Services' COVID-19 data site this weekend had two new confirmed positives in Vilas County, along with a new death; and one in Iron County; the state also reduced Florence County's number of confirmed cases by four and Forest County's count by one.
The DHS on Sunday had Marinette County with 4,070 confirmed cases, 434 probable cases and 66 deaths, three probable deaths; Vilas County, 2,222 confirmed, 145 probable and 40 deaths, two probable; Forest County, 949 confirmed, 77 probable and 23 deaths, three probable; Iron County, 572 confirmed, 117 probable and 21 deaths, 19 probable; and Florence County, 442 confirmed, 54 probable and 12 deaths. As in Michigan, state numbers are updated daily but can lag behind local reports or have other discrepancies.
Wisconsin added 494 new positives Saturday and 399 Sunday for a total of 594,682 confirmed COVID-19 cases to date. The state listed 18 new deaths this weekend to reach 6,756.