“That day is coming, but only if we work together to keep families and communities safe,” Chippewa County Health Officer Angela Weideman said of life returning to relative normal at a press conference Wednesday January 13. Weideman began her short update via internet with a statement followed by questions from the press.

As part of the Wednesday update, Weideman said that 1 in 32 people in Chippewa County had received the vaccine as of January 13, but that only counted residents who received their vaccine within the county and that there were different places to get the vaccine. January 18 would mark the start of Fire and EMS vaccination in the County she said. Chippewa County is giving both the Pfizer and-Moderna versions of the COVID vaccine, with Pfizer able to be given to 16 and 17 tyear-olds, whereas the Moderna version cannot. Weideman was not able to give a percentage as to how many of each had been administered throughout the county.

Asked in turn if the county health department was hearing from people saying they would decline or wait things out for safety assurances, Weideman said that the number of people willing to get the vaccine was greater than it had been two months ago, with anecdotal reports often referring to someone the person had known receiving the shot and getting through the side effects as their bodies built immunity . Although serious side effects are possible with the COVID vaccine, they are rare, and there had been no storage issues in the County with the Pfizer vaccine, which requires refrigeration.

A pharmacist downstate had previously come under investigation after they admitted to intentionally spoiling vaccine doses they felt were unsafe. As to Chippewa, “everyone so far has been able to the vaccine” who wanted it, Weideman said. One of the factors impacting the rollout, however, was that the health department was both trying to follow up on positive cases at the same time that it was trying to get the vaccine distributed. A previously announced three-phase rollout would see healthcare workers and those in long-term care facilities vaccinated first, followed by essential workers, and then the general public. Speaking of which, case numbers were rising, calling for continued vigilance. More information can be accessed by going to co.chippewa.wi.us and clicking “public health” under “Government.”

Members of the Gilman Village Board are shown in a November file photo. From left to right: President Jane DeStaercke; Clerk Candice Grunseth; Trustee Mike Kinas; and Trustee Greg Steinbach.