Vaccinations Help Make for a Healthier Holiday Season

By Press release submission

Oct 30, 2021

Calumet County issued the following announcement on Oct. 28

With the holiday season quickly approaching, if you haven’t already initiated and completed your COVID-19 vaccination(s), now is the time to do so. Holidays are a time to celebrate with family and friends, enjoy company, and gather together. On October 15, the CDC emphasized that vaccinations are key to safe holiday get-togethers. "Protect those not yet eligible for vaccination such as young children by getting yourself and other eligible people around them vaccinated,” as stated on the CDC website.

Vaccination remains our most effective tool to prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death due to COVID-19. This is especially critical as we move into the fall when other seasonal illnesses, like influenza, may potentially cause increases in hospitalizations. The more individuals who are vaccinated against COVID-19, the less likelihood of further burdening our healthcare and hospital systems. This will further allow the healthcare systems to provide more non-COVID-19 care to everyone, making our communities healthier.

While no vaccine is 100% effective at preventing disease transmission, the currently available COVID-19 vaccines have been extremely successful at what they were designed to do, as demonstrated by Wisconsin-level data. Unvaccinated individuals are five times more likely to develop a case of COVID-19, nine times more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-related reasons, and 19 times more likely to die as a result of COVID-19 than their fully vaccinated peers.

Furthermore, national data have shown that COVID-19 vaccines make it less likely for individuals to transmit or contract the virus that causes COVID-19. Lower transmission rates mean the virus has fewer opportunities to mutate into a strain that could cause problems in the future, even if cases decline in the short term.

The health officers of the five health departments in the Fox Valley collectively agree that the best way to promote vaccine confidence is through trusted messengers. “Having trusted messengers talking with family members, friends and co-workers can help us move the goal forward in our vaccine rates throughout the Fox Valley and the state,” states Outagamie County Health Officer/Manager Natalie Vandeveld.

Want to be fully vaccinated prior to the Holidays?

You need to receive your first dose by the following dates to be considered fully vaccinated prior to these holidays

Thanksgiving (Nov. 25)