Data Notes for the Week of May 20

Read Data Snapshot

If you’re new to the data snapshot, we publish a weekly summary of the status for each of our metrics (you can find past issues on our data and metrics page). The data below are from May 3 to May 16.

During this period, there was an average of 31 cases per day, which is the lowest average we’ve had since June 2020.

Cases decreased during this 14-day period. With an average of 31 cases per day, we are back to levels last seen in June 2020, before variants were widespread and before we had access to vaccination. Though we have seen a substantial decline in tests over the past month, we have sufficient testing available to assure that we are identifying possible illness. We still have a low percent positivity of 1.2%.

There was an average of only 1 case per day among ages 70+ during this 14-day period.

Over the past four weeks, cases have decreased among ages 8-49 and remained stable among all other age groups. Our chart on page four of the Snapshot outlines cases among each group compared to the prior two weeks.

This week’s issue also includes vaccination rate and number of cases for different population age groups starting on page three. These charts are especially striking! They illustrate how we’re seeing fewer cases as more people get vaccinated.

• Among 65+ year olds, 95% have received at least one dose of vaccine. The 7-day average of daily new cases was 31 when vaccinations started in mid-December; that number is now down to 1 case per day. The high level of vaccine coverage among this group likely prevented the small spike in cases we saw in other age groups in mid-April.
• Among 18-64 year olds, 73% currently have at least one dose of vaccine. On April 16, 50% had received one dose of vaccine and since then, the 7-day average of daily new cases has steadily declined by 68% from 53 per day to 17 per day.
• Among 16-17 year olds, 62% have received at least one dose of vaccine. The 7-day average of daily new cases was 6 when vaccinations started in mid-December; that number is now just 1 case per day.
• Among 12-15 year olds, 30% have received at least one dose of vaccine (in just the first week they’ve been eligible)! The 7-day average of daily new cases among this group peaked at 19 cases per day in mid-November, was at 6 cases per day in mid-April, and now is at about 2-3 cases per day.
• Vaccination reduces the number of people who can get infected and spread COVID-19 to others, which means that we see fewer cases among both vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. The 7-day average of daily new cases among ages 11 and under, who cannot yet get vaccinated, was at 16 in mid-January and at 8 in mid-April, and now is at about 3 cases per day.

After just a week of being eligible, we’re nearing a third (29.8%) of people ages 12-15 who have received their first dose of vaccine!

Among all people in Dane County, 64% of Dane County residents have received at least one dose of vaccine, which is the highest among all counties in the state. Over half (54.7%) of Dane County residents have completed the vaccine series. Among the population eligible for vaccination in Dane County (people ages 12+), 73.9% have received at least one dose of vaccine.

Based on our current 7-day average of 1,496 newly vaccinated people per day, we could expect 80% of the 12+ Dane County population to have at least one dose of vaccine by June 8.