COVID cases still up. in Wisconsin, but rate slowing down, and more are vaxxing

Here's another update on Wisconsin's COVID figures, now that the weekend numbers have come in.

Not surprisingly, the number of new cases went up again, this time to the highest levels in 6 months. The only positive in this is that the rate of increase is slowing down, only 50% higher after doubling (and then some) in each of the last 2 weeks.

But unlike what we were seeing in February, COVID death totals are staying low in Wisconsin. That number is staying below 10 a week, despite the fact that the spike in new cases started in mid-July.

Given the 4-6 week lag between new cases and deaths, we'll have to wait until at least Labor Day to see just how much the vaccine is reducing the chances that someone dies of COVID. But the early trend is encouraging, which would lessen the need for lockdowns and cutbacks in economic activity.

The recent jump in cases has also led to more Wisconsinites getting their dose of the vaccine. There were 50,000 vaccinations in Wisconsin over first 7 days in August, the first time that's happened since the end of June (when many in the initial group of eligible Wisconsinites were finishing up their 2nd round of shots).

So at least some people are being sparked into action, even if it's a few months later than it should have been. Now the key is to make those new cases plateau and then fall, hopefully by the time school starts in 4 weeks. But the race is on, and it can go either way either.