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UW-Health experts pleased to hear news of possible COVID-19 vaccine

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News of a viable vaccine for COVID-19 is just the first step, according to UW-Health’s Dr. Jeff Pothoff.

Pothoff says the vaccine will need to go through its final trials before it’s fully approved for use, but that it’s a fantastic result. 

“This is a tremendous feat for science. Over the course of less than a year develop, and then not only develop but do the trials that are necessary to begin proving that the vaccine is safe and effective.”

Reports from Pfizer say that the vaccine appears to be 90 percent effective at preventing COVID-19. Pothoff says the US will have to start ramping up production to ensure that it can make over 300 million doses for the nation.

“Scientists bring the expertise, governments bring the resources, and before you know it… Bam! There it is. That’s a pretty monumental moment for all of us.”

Pothoff expects that there will be a staggered rollout of the vaccine, once it’s ready. First doses will go to medical staff and those who are most vulnerable, and then roll out to the rest of the nation. 

“We’re still fighting a fierce battle against this virus and we need every single healthcare provider to stay healthy so that they can come to work and take care of the rest of us.”

UW-Health psychologist says simple steps can help maintain mental health during pandemic

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As the stress of the pandemic spills over into the stress of the Presidential elections, health experts are reminding people to take a break and take care of themselves.

Doctor Shilagh (SHY-lah) Mirgain with UW-Health says steps towards good mental health can be as simple as remembering to do simple tasks. 

“Make sure you’re getting outside and exercising, making sure you’re getting good sleep, eating well, doing enjoyable activities, you know all of those are really vital things to be doing.”

She says that you shouldn’t feel ashamed of being stressed out and worried. Just find time to work on things when you can, and keep in touch with friends and family.

“Wellness is a direction not a destination and it’s built on those small daily steps we’re taking so just think about one thing you can do each day.”

She says it’s very important to get enough sun as we enter the winter months, and to reach out to family and friends to stay in touch. That’s both to help ourselves, and to keep contact with other people who might be in need.

“We’re doing for ourselves, but also for one another, and we need to support each other as we go into the holidays, into this long winter season ahead where our typical coping strategies aren’t going to be available.”

Milwaukee elections officials push back against Republican questions surrounding election

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Local elections officials in Milwaukee call allegations of inefficiency by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos insulting.

Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Claire Woodall-Vogg told the Journal Sentinel that Speaker Vos was being “absurd and insulting,” when he suggested that election staff somehow botched the ballot count last week.

Woodall-Vogg said it only took staff 20 hours to open, verify and count over 170,000 ballots. She said Republican poll watchers and the public had a place in the entire process, which was streamed live online.

Vos has called for an Assembly committee to investigate the election results.

State Elections Administrator Meagan Wolfe said last week that the elections process was “publicly observable and . . . transparent.”

Vos wants committee to investigate allegations of elections fraud

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he wants a legislative committee to investigate allegations of elections fraud in Wisconsin.

Speaker Vos said in a statement late on Friday that he’s concerned about stories about ‘mail-in ballot dumps’ and an ‘inefficiency of Milwaukee’s central counting of absentee ballots’.

He wants the Assembly elections committee to investigate and possibly subpoena records. Vos also encouraged residents to volunteer for recounts.

Elections Commission administrator Meghan Wolfe said earlier this week that such allegations are “impossible” and that elections staff have followed the very stringent election laws that were put in place by the Legislature.

Daily COVID-19 count passes 6,000 for first time, over 250,000 total infections since start of pandemic

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Another pair of milestones of COVID-19 in Wisconsin for Friday.

The Department of Health Services reports that 61-hundred people have tested positive for COVID-19, and the state has passed over 250-thousand positive cases since the pandemic first began. 244 more people were sent to the hospital, and 62 people died.

The Wisconsin Hospitals Association reports that 1,787 people are currently hospitalized, and 385 people are in intensive care.

Elections Commission says rumors about election conspiracies are “impossible”

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The Wisconsin Elections Commission is clarifying facts as the Presidential Election continues. 

Administrator Meghan Wolfe says that conspiracy theories about secret stashes of ballots are wrong, and that it’s just the simple process of counting a massive amount of absentee ballots.

“The law says the absentee ballots have to be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted and Counting can’t begin until the polls open at 7 a.m. on Election Day.”

Wolfe says her staff and the clerks across the state have followed the strict guidelines on elections in state law, and that every ballot has a paper trail from registration to voting to counting.

“Every step of the election process is publicly observable and is transparent. This includes voting at the polls on Election Day and the counting of absentees.”

Wolfe says that in no way and at no time were ballots added to the count once election day was over and that claims to the otherwise are false.

“Central count is publicly observable and representatives from both parties observe the tally of these ballots including the verification of the results that were posted on Election night and into Wednesday morning.”

Wolfe says that state and local clerks stand ready to do a recount if the Trump Administration wants to pay for one. That would come no later than November 17th when the votes are finalized.

Marshfield’s police chief accused of sexually assaulting female police officer

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Marshfield’s police chief is now facing sexual assault charges.

The complaint filed by Jackson County Assistant District Attorney Jeri Marsolek details allegations from a female employee that Gramza sexually assaulted her in his office. The victim told an Eau Claire police investigator the assaults happened repeatedly during the past five years, but she was afraid to report them.

Gramza is being charged with felony misconduct in office and fourth degree sexual assault.

Mayor Bob McManus reacted, as he learned of the charges during his monthly appearance on a Marshfield radio station. “Now we’re just going to have to let the process take place. Now we know what the charges are, so now begins the legal issues that take place.”

Gramza has gone through multiple investigations this year, and has been on leave since August. The chief will make an initial appearance to the charges next month.

Evers says state is ready to accommodate a recount

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Wisconsin’s presidential election may be headed to another recount as the Trump campaign seeks to challenge Joe Biden’s apparent victory.

The former Vice President appears to be the winner of Wisconsin’s presidential vote, but President Trump’s campaign plans to challenge that outcome.

Governor Tony Evers says the campaign is welcome to challenge the count, but it’s unlikely that there will be a change, noting that even former Governor Scott Walker has cast doubt on the outcome of a recount. Walker tweeted on Wednesday that a recount changing the outcome in Wisconsin would be “a high hurdle.”

“There’s not many times I have agreed with former Governor Walker, but when he said it’s a high hurdle, 20,000 votes, I agree,” Evers said Wednesday.

That margin is wider than the margin that President Trump won with in 2016, and in that election’s recount, only 131 votes changed.

Evers said the state stands ready to confirm the vote. “We have great people at the elections commission that will supervise that process as well as the people in our communities.”

The governor said that while the Trump campaign is well within its rights to do so, a recount will lengthen the process.

“When Jill Stein requested it 4 years ago for the Green Party it took 10 days so it wasn’t necessarily a burden to people but it certainly is a high hurdle.”

 

Democrats add seats in State Assembly, prevent veto proof majority in State Senate

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Legislative Republicans appear to have failed in their effort to get a veto proof majority in the State Senate.

Former DATCP Secretary Brad Pfaff held out a victory over former State Senator Dan Kapanke in the 32nd Senate District in western Wisconsin. Republicans needed to win three seats in the State Senate in order to be able to overturn any veto from Governor Tony Evers.

Over in the Assembly, Democrats have picked up a pair of seats.

According to unofficial results, Sara Rodriguez has defeated Representative Rob Hutton in the 13th Assembly district, and in the 23rd Assembly District, Deb Andraca has ousted long time Republican incumbent Jim Ott. Both of those seats are in the Milwaukee suburbs.

Democrat Nick Milroy appears to have won his race in far northwestern Wisconsin by just 139 votes.

President Trump attacks Biden, Supreme Court in final election rally in Wisconsin

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President Donald Trump made his last in person stop in Wisconsin on Monday night ahead of Election Day.

In a rally marred with technical issues, Trump repeatedly attacked Joe Biden and claimed that Biden will lock down the country to stop the spread of COVID-19

“The Biden lockdown will mean no school, no graduations, no wedding, no Thanksgiving, no Christmas, no Easter, no Fourth of July, and no future. Other than that it’s really not a bad way to go!”

“Sleepy Joe Biden will raise your taxes 4 trillion dollars, massively increase your regulations, shut down your farms, close down your factories.”

Trump falsely claimed that he sent the National Guard into Kenosha to stop protests following the shooting of Jacob Blake. He also attacked the US Supreme Court for not stopping Pennsylvania from allowing an extended deadline to return absentee ballots.

“This is a very dangerous decision for our country, because so many things, I mean, they’re going to say, well how many votes short are we? We need six thousand votes! Well, we’ll take 6000 of these, we’ll put them over here… Let’s take 6000 of these… It’s going to be cheating!”

This is a widely debunked claim, and election experts say that taking time to count all of the ballots is part of the process. 

Trump thanked the Wisconsin Republican party for the work they did in getting him elected in 2016, and joked that Wisconsin GOP Chairman Andrew Hitt would be fired if Trump loses the election.