Even with Door County leading the state in vaccination rate, Dr. Jim Heise is still advising people to not pull back too quickly in regards to the pandemic. The shrinking demand for the vaccines and the success of other providers in the area is causing Door County Medical Center to discontinue its mass vaccination clinics by the end of the month. It will still hold smaller vaccination clinics in the community, including times at NEW industries and Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay. Across the lake, Michigan is providing a cautionary tale for states as it experiences a third surge. Michigan has been leading the nation in coronavirus cases for the last two weeks as thousands are being admitted into local hospitals. Door County Medical Center’s Chief Medical Officer admits he is not privy to all the details regarding Michigan’s issues, but Heise believes it is partly due to people letting their guard down.
Heise added that the impact of COVID-19 variants is also complicating the response to the virus. Michigan, for example, has over 2,000 cases involving the UK strain. Door County reported one case of the South African variant earlier this spring, but Heise says no additional infections from that particular strain have been detected since in the area.
