University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Thursday, February 25, 2021
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State, county data shows racial disparities By Abigail Leavins STAFF WRITER
As Wisconsin reaches over 1.2 million COVID-19 vaccinations distributed, statistics show racial disparities in who has access to the doses. Data shows that the percentage of the white population that has received at least one dose is just over three times the rate of the Black population. Just over thirteen percent white people have received at least one dose as compared to 4.2 percent of Black people. Data at the Dane County level shows similar disparities. DHS data shows that 15.5 percent of white people and 6.5 percent of Black people have received at least one dose. Eleven percent of records reported unknown race and 4.3 percent were recorded as “other.” Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) data shows that white, non-Hispanic, females and people over 65 are the groups that have had the most of their population receive at least one dose. On the state level, Black Wisconsinites have the lowest percentage of having received at least one dose as a percentage of population. The DHS dashboard includes a disclaimer that demographic information like sex, race and ethnicity are not required to be reported in the Wisconsin Immunization Registry. WIR cannot store multiple race variables for a single vaccination record, regardless of how many are reported. Demographic breakdown will be “incomplete and imprecise.” Eight percent of records had an unknown race and 4.6 percent of records are reported as “other” races. State officials responded to racial
disparities last week by investing $6.1 million to support community-based organizations that raise awareness and access to vaccines among communities that have “faced both historical and current barriers to health care
when they are eligible,” DHS Interim Secretary Karen Timberlake said. “We also know that some people may not trust information about the COVID-19 vaccine due to a history of racism and mistreatment experi-
job opportunities, often referred to as systemic racism, has exacerbated the disparate impacts of COVID-19 experienced by Black, Brown, Indigenous and other communities of color in Wisconsin, including disparities in
enced by many communities.” The DHS website says that Wisconsin is “deliberate choices to reduce barriers to access the COVID19 vaccine. “Systemic barriers and social factors including access to quality health care, housing, transportation, and
vaccine rates,” the DHS site reads. New community vaccination clinics announced by the state, including the one in nearby Rock County, are focusing on vaccinating people without health insurance. The Daily Cardinal previously reported on the disproportionate
DATA COURTESY OF DHS
services and the COVID-19 vaccine.” “COVID-19 vaccines are available in hundreds of places around the state every day, but people without easy access to the internet, or without an existing relationship with a healthcare provider may not be aware of how to get vaccinated
impact of COVID-19 on BIPOC communities. The disparities are related to structural racism, unequal access to health care and prevalence in frontline occupations. Wendi C. Thomas and Hannah Grabenstein from ProPublica reported that there may be a less obvious bias against Black people when it comes to vaccine eligibility. They noted that the blanket age standard ignores previous research done by the Brookings Institute which found that Black people are dying from COVID-19 on average 10 years younger than white people. “If you’re trying to avert deaths, you would want to vaccinate Blacks who are about 10 years younger than whites,” Sara Reber, co-author of the Brookings Institute research, said. The ProPublica article also indicated that studies have found that overall life expectancies are lower for the Black population than the white population and that the age standard is not promoting racial equity. Life expectancy dropped by a full year in the first half of 2020, but dropped by three years for non-Hispanic Black males and just over two years for non-Hispanic Black females, PBS reported. Current eligibility in Wisconsin includes adults age 65 and older, while some other states are vaccinating adults age 75 and older. Other eligible groups include frontline health care workers, nursing facility residents and staff, and first responders. More groups will become eligible in early March, including teachers, some public-facing essential workers and non-frontline essential health care workers.
UW addresses false positives, students discuss concerns By Sophia Vento STAFF WRITER
A robust COVID-19 testing plan is at the forefront of university efforts to curb the spread of COVID19 across the UW-Madison campus, but some students are reporting the university’s saliva-based testing has given them false positive test results, forcing themselves and acquaintances into isolation. The university says that the chance of a false positive COVID19 test result is extremely low, as both the saliva-based and nasal swab testing options utilized on campus are polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and considered the “gold-standard” of coronavirus tests. Meredith McGlone, the director of news and media relations at UW-Madison, maintains this sentiment. “It’s important to understand
that any diagnostic test performed in populations with a low disease prevalence will yield some falsepositive results,” said McGlone, highlighting that PCR tests used by the university are the most specific tests available to detect infection, thus minimizing the number of false positive tests to the greatest possible extent. McGlone also said the university is not seeing any difference in the frequency of false positives between saliva and nasal swab tests, both of which are PCR tests. “We are currently reviewing all of the campus test data with an eye toward ensuring public health while minimizing the impact of false-positive results,” said McGlone. Still, some students say they have received false positive results from the saliva-based test.
Max Peckenschneider, a firstyear student-athlete who tests frequently, recently received a positive test result from an oncampus, saliva-based test. He had COVID-19 early last semester and was surprised to receive another positive result, prompting him to seek another test. “I took two additional tests to double-check and they both came back negative,” said Peckenschneider. One of these tests was a university test — taken prior to being notified that his test from the previous day had come back positive — and the other through CVS Pharmacy. Will — a junior who asked to not disclose his full name — tested positive last Friday. “I was very surprised that I tested positive because everyone around me had been testing nega-
tive for weeks and both of my two in-person classes have pretty good social distancing/mask-wearing precautions,” said Will. Because UHS does not allow students to complete campus tests after receiving a positive result, Will tested at the Alliant Energy Center the following Saturday, ultimately receiving a negative result this Monday. He tested again on Tuesday and received another negative result Wednesday. “The most concerning thing for me is that there could be a significant number of students who got a false-positive and now are not only exempt from testing, but confident that they can’t get the virus,” Will said, underscoring his frustration with the restrictions placed on himself as well as those he has interacted with who were
asked to quarantine by university contact tracers. The university maintains that they will not accept negative test results from off-campus testing sites, and as a result, Will and his roommates are left with restricted access to campus spaces in accordance with the Safer Badgers app and Badger Badge system. Will plans on contacting UHS to see if there is anything that can be done to lift the restrictions on his roommates and friends but is weary this will happen. UW-Madison senior Hayden Rasmussen believes he recently received a false positive test result as well. “When I first found out I tested positive, I was very shocked,” said Rasmussen. “Like many others, I have been very responsible in the
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“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”