The 2022-2023 school year is approaching for Wisconsinites. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) urges parents and guardians to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19. If your child has received their COVID-19 vaccines, it is important they stay up to date with their booster vaccines. This is crucial, even for students who will be attending in-person classes at a college or university.

“Our mission as we approach the school year is to ensure that every student and our dedicated educators and staff can stay safe, healthy, and in school,” said DHS Deputy Secretary Deb Standridge. “A critical part of making this possible is ensuring that everyone is vaccinated against COVID-19. Even as new variants emerge, the COVID-19 vaccines continue to do their job of preventing serious illness that can lead to hospitalization and even death. We urge all parents and guardians to help protect our school communities and protect their children against the virus.”

DHS Recommends COVID-19 Vaccine for Everyone Age 6 Months and Older. There are nearly 389,000 school-age youth in Wisconsin that have received their primary series of COVID-19 vaccinations. These individuals are between the ages of 5 and 17 years old. In contrast, approximately 75% of 5-to-11-year-olds and about 40% of 12-to-17-year-olds are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Wisconsin.

Getting vaccinated AGAINST COVID-19

“Over the course of the pandemic, many children fell behind on their routine childhood vaccinations. Back-to-school time is an ideal opportunity to get caught up on those vaccines and get the COVID-19 vaccine, too,” said Bureau of Communicable Disease Director Traci DeSalvo. “Cooler fall weather, schools being in session, and the coming winter mean people will spend more time inside and in closer proximity to each other. Vaccination remains the best way to prevent a surge in COVID-19 cases and a disruption in our schools, universities and lives.”

COVID-19 vaccines remain available to all Wisconsinites at no cost. In Racine County, vaccines can be obtained at various locations, including the AMI Vaccination Clinic at Regency Mall.

Take action

To keep students safe and healthy during the upcoming school year, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released updated COVID-19 Operational Guidance for K-12 Schools and Early Care and Education Programs. DHS supports the updated CDC guidance. Per their news release, it “encourages each school or school district to closely monitor the COVID-19 Community Levels in their county, along with vaccination rates, illness among students, teachers, and staff, outbreaks, and the age of students served by the school, and adjust their policies as necessary.”

According to DHS, parents, guardians, and students are encouraged to take actions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 this school year by:

Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations by ensuring all family members have received their recommended vaccine and booster doses.
Staying prepared by knowing the COVID-19 community levels in your area and how to access testing services. Many schools statewide will once again offer COVID-19 testing services and every U.S. household remains eligible to receive free at-home tests that can be ordered online at covid.gov. Many health insurers will also cover as many as eight free at-home tests per person each month. Check with your health insurer about how to get reimbursed.
Taking action if exposed to COVID-19 by monitoring for symptoms, wearing a mask around others indoors, and getting tested on day five following exposure.
Staying home when sick with COVID-19 or any other illness to prevent spreading it to others.

School News

Plank resigns as Superintendent of Burlington Area School District effective June 30

COVID-19 News

The Racine County Eye and Kenosha Lens is committed to publishing the most current and accurate information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in our Coronavirus section. View both the Racine County COVID-19 Dashboard and Kenosha County COVID-19 Dashboard offering real-time (updated Monday – Friday) statistical reporting for Racine and Kenosha Counties.