Take a shot

November is looking scary. Marathon County recorded 575 confirmed cases of COVID-19 this past week and, after a summer where deaths had plateaued, we are now seeing a surge of fatalities. Twenty-eight people in the county died from the coronavirus this past month. Hospitalizations are spiking up to 35 a week and, as we report in this week’s issue, it’s tough to find an empty hospital bed at either the Marshfield Medical Center hospital or at the Aspirus Wausau Hospital. Both institutions report that the situation is short of a crisis and, even when beds are full, they can find care for patients at other hospitals within their respective systems. Still, patients with non-coronavirus ailments are being told to find alternative care given the influx of COVID-19 patients.

This is not good. We plead with our readers to do the thing that will best protect themselves from the coronavirus and also best protect the community. Get vaccinated.

Vaccines are safe and, while not perfect, are effective in protecting people from COVID-19. Marathon County data for September reported by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services proves the value of coronavirus vaccines. The death rate due to COVID-19 among the unvaccinated per 100,000 people was 19.8, but only 4.9 for vaccinated people.

Younger people have thought they did not need to get vaccinated because COVID-19 only threatened senior citizens with death. That’s changing with the Delta variant. The average age of a COVID- 19 patient at the Aspirus Wausau Hospital has dropped dramatically, from 62 to 50.

Only barely half of the Marathon County population is fully vaccinated. This low rate enables the virus to spread. We can do better. We must do better. Go to vaccines.gov. The website lists 24 places within 25 miles of our area that are vaccinating people. The vaccines are free. Make an appointment.