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Largely unvaccinated COVID-19 patients straining Wisconsin hospitals

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COVID-19 patients – largely unvaccinated – are straining Wisconsin hospitals. Dr. Ashok Rai, president and CEO of Prevea Health.

“The majority of what’s overwhelming us right now . . . of the intubated patients, the ICU patients are the unvaccinated,” Dr. Ashok Rai, president and CEO of Prevea Health said Thursday. “We know statistically speaking that they’re going to be sicker, despite the therapeutics that we have available to us today. They are the ones that are using not only the highest amount of resources, but staying the longest.”

New coronavirus infections in Wisconsin – mainly of the Delta variant – are as high as they were last December. A record number of hospitalized COVID patients are on ventilators.

A wave of mostly unvaccinated COVID-19 patients are straining hospital resources across Wisconsin. Health Services Secretary designee Karen Timberlake

“On average, people who are unvaccinated are nine times more likely to be hospitalized than are people who have been vaccinated. And I believe the latest data is that people who are unvaccinated are dying at a rate that is eleven times greater than people who have been vaccinated.” Department of Health Services Secretary designee Karen Timberlake said.

Ninety-seven percent of intensive care beds in the state are being used currently, and there are no ICU beds available in some parts of Wisconsin.

The latest coronavirus variant has yet to be detected in Wisconsin. But Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ryan Westergaard says there’s a one-to-two week lag in genome sequence testing.

“So it it is possible, perhaps likely, that the Omicron variant is circulating more widely in the United States, and it will take some time for us to detect it, and we’ll report that when we do,” Westergaard said.

Minnesota reported the nation’s second confirmed Omicron case on Thursday – a man who recently returned from a trip to New York City.

Republican bills to curtail abortions headed to likely vetoes from Evers

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Republican authored bills aimed at abortion in Wisconsin have passed both chambers of the legislature. And, as Assembly Minority Leader Gordon notes, they’re headed for vetoes by Governor Tony Evers.

Hintz (D-Oshkosh)

“Republicans know these extreme bills won’t become law. And they know the majority of Wisconsinites support access to safe and legal abortion,” Hintz said on Wednesday.

Two of the measures were previously vetoed by the Democratic governor, but Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) defended the votes.

“Everybody in our caucus is proud to be pro-life,” Vos said. “Just because a bill is errantly vetoed by the governor in a previous session doesn’t mean we won’t bring the topic up.”

One bill would require that doctors notify women that a medication-induced abortion could be reversed. Another prohibits the state from certifying abortion providers as Medicaid providers. Two others ban abortions based on sex or race, and require doctors to provide expectant parents information about congenital conditions.

Also on Wednesday, the Assembly passed legislation allowing pharmacists in Wisconsin to administer oral contraception.

Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay)

“What this bill does really is it gives women more choices, it decreases unplanned pregnancies and by doing so decreases abortions. And it saves tax dollars and reduces generational poverty,” said Representative Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay), the bill’s author. “I respect the moral opposition that some people have to birth control. But I think it’s not right for a small minority to impose their values on the rest of the state.”

The bill passed Wednesday on a strong 83-7 bipartisan vote, and would likely be signed by Governor Evers if it passes the state Senate.

 

Gableman issues subpoenas to five Wisconsin mayors

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The attorney in charge of a Republican investigation into results of the 2021 presidential election in Wisconsin dropped in on Tuesday night’s Green Bay Common Council meeting.

Michael Gableman told alders he was in town for other other meetings and wanted to introduce himself to the council.

The former conservative state Supreme Court justice explained that “the vast majority of American citizens have no idea how elections are supposed to be administered.”

In an interview with the Journal Sentinel before he addressed the council, Gableman said he also does not have “a comprehensive understanding” of how elections work.

Gableman – who this week issued subpoenas to the mayors of Wisconsin’s five largest cities – also said an October 31 deadline for him to complete his work was unrealistic. That date was set by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who hired Gableman to oversee the review.

“There’s been a lot of concerns raised about influence of private organizations – such as Center For Tech and Civic Life – participating directly in the administration of public elections,” Gableman said in response to a question about the scope of his investigation. “Finally, there is great concern by many citizens over the reliability, the accurate nature, of the voting machines.”

Mayor Rhodes-Conway

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, one of the mayors subpoenaed, tooks Republicans in the legislature to task, for attempting to change Wisconsin election laws following Donald Trump’s loss in the state last year.

“There’s a lot of Republicans that one elections using those same laws. The same ballots, the same voting equipment, the same polling places, that voters used to elect President Biden and other Democrats.”

Rhodes-Conway said that to this point, the election review headed by Gableman has been confusing.

“I don’t what he’s doing, I don’t know what kind of investigation he’s running, and I don’t know what they think they’re going to get out of it.”

The mayor added that she’s willing to meet with Gableman – but that any meeting ought to be open. “So if I’m going to go to Brookfield and spend my time in a strip mall answering questions, I think that room should be open to the public, and I think it should be open to the press.”

Rhodes-Conway said the level of what’s being requested by Gableman’s office of special prosecutor is “unprecedented,” and it’s unclear whether the city will be physically able to comply.

 

Williams likely out for the season with broken hand

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Devin Williams

The Milwaukee Brewers are expecting to be without the services of top setup reliever Devin Williams for the upcoming playoffs.  Williams suffered a broken right pitching hand after punching a wall after having a few drinks following Sunday’s National League Central Division clinching win over the New York Metw.

Brewers President of Baseball Operations, David Stearns told reporters on Wednesday that Williams will undergo surgery to put a plate in his hand to repair the fracture and that the injury will likely keep him out for the remainder of the season.

Williams told reporters that after the team celebration, he went out to have a few drinks.  When he returned home, he was a little frustrated, upset and punched a wall.

Williams won National League Rookie of the Year honors in 2020 and has an 8-2 record with a 2.50 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 54 innings this year.  He has set the table for Josh Hader and provides one of the best 1-2 closing combinations in the majors.  The Brewers are 70-4 this season when leading after seven innings.

The Brewers are making their fourth straight postseason appearance.  Veteran relievers Brad Boxberger and Brent Suter are likely next in line for setup duties.  Boxberger made his 70th appearance of the season in Wednesday’s 4-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Amid latest COVID-19 surge, health care workers ‘tired, stressed, frustrated’

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As COVID-19 cases continue to surge across Wisconsin, the head of the Wisconsin Hospital Association wants people to understand the pressures that’s putting on health care workers.

WHA CEO Eric Borgerding said that ICU beds are hard to find for the critically ill. “ICU capacity across Wisconsin right now is really, really tight.”

Borgerding noted the current wave of COVID-19 patients tend to be younger and sicker, and in the hospital longer than last fall.

“It’s really my hope that folks will understand we’re really stressed right now, and not just take for granted that the health care system can handle this,” he said.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has reported that the majority of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated, and that vaccination remains the best protection against hospitalization, serious illness and death.

WHA provides a daily COVID-19 Situational Awareness Update on its website.

Packers releasing TE Jace Sternberger

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According to reports, the Green Bay Packers, fresh off their 35-17 win over the Detroit Lions on Monday night, are releasing 2019 third-round draft pick Jace Sternberger.

Sternberger’s two-game suspension ended following the Packers win over the Lions on Monday night and they had until 3 p.m. Tursday afternoon to either add him to the roster or release him by 3 p.m. Tuesday.

The Packers were tired of waiting for Sternberger to show enough progress to warrant his remaining on the roster following the two-game suspension.

Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis, Josiah Deguara and Dominique Dafney all were all higher on the depth chart than Sternberger.

Burnes and Hader combine for second no-hitter in Brewers franchise history (AUDIO)

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Corbin Burnes

With his pitch count at 115 after eight innings, Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell knew that Corbin Burnes has several more very important innings ahead of him.  It’s why Counsell removed Burnes, despite his not allowing a hit and allowed closer Josh Hader to nail down his 31st save and preserve a combined no-hitter in a 3-0 win over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night.

It’s the second no-hitter in Brewers franchise history and the first since Juan Nieves no-hit the Baltimore Orioles on April 15, 1987.

It’s been a remarkable year for Burnes, who continues to make a strong bid for the National League Cy Young Award.  He opened the season with 58 strikeouts before he walked his first batter, which set a Major League record.  He finished with 14 strikeouts on Saturday night.  A single walk in the seventh inning is the only thing that prevented Burnes and Hader from combining for a perfect game.

The Brewers pushed their record to a franchise best 33 games over .500.  Their magic number to clinch the National League Central is down to seven. [Read more…]

Stricker unveils Captain’s picks for U.S. Ryder Cup team

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Steve Stricker – WRN File Photo

U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker filled out his 12-man roster for the upcoming event Sept. 24-26 at Whistling Straits.

Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas were automatic qualifiers for the 43rd Ryder Cup.  Stricker selected Daniel Berger, Harris English, Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth as his Captains picks.

The U.S. team will have six Ryder Cup rookies: Schauffele, Berger, English, Morikawa, Cantlay and Scheffler.

The European Team will be finalized after the final round of this week’s BMW PGA Championship outside of London.  Padraig Harrington is the European captain.

Packers get roster to 53, ready to start the season against the Saints

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The Green Bay Packers trimmed their roster to 52 players on Tuesday and will officially add punter Corey Bojorquez to bring the roster to 53-players on Wednesday.  The Packers used a fifth round draft pick on J.K. Scott in 2019 but his inconsistency cost him his job.  The Packers sent a sixth round pick to the Rams for Bojorquez and get a 2023 7th round pick in return.

The Packers kept nine offensive lineman, but not one of them was Ben Braden.  Braden had been competing for a guard spot during training camp and saw time at tackle as well.  The Packers decided to keep tackles Dennis Kelly and Josh Nijman instead.

On the defensive side, the Packers kept undrafted rookie defensive lineman Jack Heflin.  The Packers have now kept at least one undrafted rookie on the week one roster for 20 straight years. [Read more…]

Big Ten Conference updates forfeiture policy

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The Big Ten is joining the rest of the Power Five conferences in instituting a forfeiture policy regarding COVID-19 for the upcoming season.

Effective today, the conference has determined that if one of its member institutions is unable to play a conference contest due to COVID-19, that contest shall be declared a forfeit and will not be rescheduled.  That contest shall be considered a loss for the team impacted by COVID-19 and a win for its opponent in the conference standings.

If both of the two competing teams are unable to participate in a scheduled Conference competition due to COVID-19 and as a result the competition is unable to occur on the calendar day in which it is scheduled, the competition shall be considered a “no contest”.

Click here to view the 2021-22 Big Ten Conference Forfeiture Policy.