First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff are scheduled to be in Wauwatosa and Waukesha Wednesday afternoon. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy will join them at the Wauwatosa stop, which is at Children's Wisconsin hospital.
There, the schedule includes meeting with frontline health care workers who have cared for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The visit comes when Wisconsin has seen the highest hospitalization numbers for COVID-19 and when medical experts urge those eligible to get initial vaccinations or a booster shot.
One focus of the visit is COVID-19 shots for children ages 5-11 who only became eligible for the vaccine about six weeks ago. Newly released state figures show 18% of that age group in Wisconsin, or roughly 88,000 children, have received at least one dose of the vaccine. About 10% are fully vaccinated.
City of Milwaukee Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson said she understands parental reluctance to take kids to get the vaccine.
"It can be scary and nerve-wracking to make these decisions when you feel like you don't have all the information. I encourage anyone who has questions about the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine to speak with your trusted pediatrician, ask questions and get direct and informed answers," Johnson said Tuesday during a media briefing.
There's also recent news about booster shots for 16 and 17-year-olds who got their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine more than six months ago or the Johnson & Johnson vaccine more than two months ago. Dr. Ben Weston of the Medical College of Wisconsin and Milwaukee County Emergency Management said those teens are now eligible for the Pfizer booster.
"There's very good evidence for this. Data out of Israel, published just last week in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed when you compared people who've received both doses of vaccine to those who have received both doses plus their booster, those who [received the booster] were ten times less likely to get infected with COVID," Weston said.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said he's excited that the First Lady, Second Gentleman, and Surgeon General are visiting the Children's hospital this afternoon. Crowley said he's hoping for a deeper conversation on how to encourage more adults and kids to get vaccinated.
