Two additional cases of the COVID-19 virus variant that was originally found in England have been discovered in Eau Claire. This variant, called  B.1.1.7, is considered to be more readily transmitted than the original virus, and is also possibly more deadly.

This week marks the launch of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program(link is external) which is a collaborative effort between the federal government and state health officials to provide free COVID-19 vaccinations at participating pharmacies.

On February 6, Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and laboratory partners identified a second case of variant strain B.1.1.7 of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in Wisconsin.

The Walgreens website is now functioning and it is possible to look up the availability of appointments. In my case the site said no appointments are available currently in Menomonie.

Another update -- the site is back in "updates in progress" mode. My guess is that not a lot of appointments will be made any time soon.

Update -- the Walgreens.com website is functioning again, but attempts to schedule an appointment are still failing.

This is the weekly COVID-19 update for Dunn County with Dunn County Public Health Administrator KT Gallagher.  At this time 8% of the residents of Dunn County have been vaccinated, and 11% have been vaccinated state-wide.

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today reacted to the passage of Assembly Bill (AB) 1, which was passed after Republicans abandoned compromise legislation that passed the Wisconsin State Senate with bipartisan support. A previous bipartisan version of AB 1 had received the governor’s support, signaling he would sign that version if Republicans sent it to his desk.  

Gov. Tony Evers today signed Executive Order #105 and Emergency Order #1 establishing a statewide public health emergency and requiring face coverings in public places to protect the health and safety of Wisconsinites.