Vaccine progress hits a wall; cases tick up
(5/5/2021)
COVID infections are up and vaccinations are down in Winona County. The number of new coronavirus cases in the county nearly doubled over the weekend, with a total of 49 new cases in the past week, compared to 26 cases last week. That is the highest weekly total in nearly three months.
“In my mind, it was inevitable that we would see an increase of cases here in Winona County,” Winona County Public Health Supervisor Melanie Tatge said, noting how prevalent the more-contagious B117 variant is in Minnesota.
At the same time cases rose, new vaccinations — the number of people receiving their first dose — fell by almost half for the second straight week, with just 377 first shots administered between April 24 and May 1, down from 1,284 shots just two weeks prior. That is the lowest number of first doses administered since the Winona Post began tracking vaccination data in January.