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Coronavirus

Michigan COVID-19 cases continue to decline

HOUGHTON — State data Tuesday continued to show a decrease in COVID-19 activity in the region. Houghton County had 30 new confirmed coronavirus positives and Keweenaw County only two since Aug. 30. Baraga County reported no new confirmed cases for the week. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services coronavirus website Tuesday added 280 confirmed positives since Aug. 30 to the Upper Peninsula’s tally: 46 in Iron and Marquette counties, 37 in Dickinson County, the 30 in Houghton County, 24 in Chippewa County, 21 in Menominee County, 20 in Delta County, 13 in Gogebic ...

Tweaked COVID boosters close but how much will they help?

COVID-19 vaccines tweaked to better match today's omicron threat are expected to roll out in a few weeks but still up in the air is how much benefit the booster shots will offer, who should get one -- and how soon. Pfizer and rival Moderna both asked U.S. regulators this week to authorize modified versions of their booster vaccine — shots that are half the original recipe and half protection against BA.4 and BA.5, the newest versions of omicron. The Food and Drug Administration ordered that recipe and now is evaluating what scientists call a "bivalent vaccine," with a decision ...

COVID-19 numbers drop in MI

HOUGHTON — State data Tuesday showed declining numbers of new COVID-19 cases in all area counties in the past week. Houghton County had 46 new confirmed positives since Aug. 16, while Baraga County reported 10 new cases and Keweenaw County two in the same seven-day span. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services coronavirus website Tuesday added 418 confirmed positives since Aug. 16 to the Upper Peninsula’s tally: 87 in Marquette County, 62 in Iron County, 50 in Dickinson County, 46 in Houghton County, 36 in Delta County, 29 in Menominee and Chippewa counties, 20 in ...

New health data released

HANCOCK — The Western Upper Peninsula District Health Department, located on Depot Street, announced last week the release of the Upper Peninsula Community Health Needs Assessment 2021. The 458-page book, available on-line to the general public, includes health survey results; data on ...

COVID-19 surge stressing health systems

WAUSAU, Wis. – Hospitals and health systems across the region are experiencing high patient volumes and capacity challenges during the current COVID-19 surge. Across the Aspirus Health system – which includes 17 hospitals from Portage, Wisconsin to Laurium, Michigan – patient volumes across all care settings are high. On Friday, 135 COVID-positive patients were occupying 26% of Aspirus inpatient beds. The seven-day average of COVID-positive inpatients across Aspirus has risen to 131 from 103 on Nov. 22. The weekly positivity rate among COVID-19 tests processed by Aspirus has also ...