Near West Side’s Monthly Covid-19 Update

New West Side Partners (NWSP) would like to begin sharing monthly updates on vaccine data in the Near West Side with the community, accompanied by the efforts of our team to promote vaccine information. With data from the Milwaukee County Covid Dashboard, we are now able to accurately present real time data to the community. With vaccines being administered every day, NWSP is confident that the Near West Side community will emerge from this pandemic as a strong and healthy community. 

Over the course of the pandemic, NWSP has found the Milwaukee County Covid Dashboard to be instrumental in staying up to date on the everchanging metrics around Covid-19. On the dashboard you are able to view positive test rates, number of cases, trends around the county, and vaccination rates. Since the rollout of the various covid-19 vaccines, NWSP has dedicated its resources to promote the vaccine to our community, as well as providing accurate information about the vaccines to dispel any myths or inaccurate information. 

Data from the Milwaukee County Covid-19 Dashboard reveals that 61.0% of Milwaukee County residents have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, up from 56.6% when we last covered vaccine rates in January.

Back in January, most neighborhoods in the Near West Side fell short of this county wide average, with the following data. 

Concordia ≈ 40% – 49%

Cold Springs Park ≈ 40% – 49%

Avenues West ≈ 40% – 49%

Avenues West by Marquette ≈ 59% – 71%

Martin Drive East ≈ 40% – 49%

Martin Drive West ≈ 49% – 59%

Merrill Park East ≈ 29% – 40%

Merrill Park West ≈ 49% – 59%

Piggsville East ≈ 49% – 59%

Piggsville West ≈ 59% – 71%

Miller valley East ≈ 40% – 49%

Miller Valley West ≈ 49% – 59%

Note that because the data is measured in different census tracts that can span various neighborhoods, exact percentages are difficult to calculate, hence the reason the dashboard has a range for the percentages. 

With the diligent work from the NWSP Ambassadors, vaccination rates around the Near west Side community rose since last we checked the data, here’s how the neighborhoods look now.

 Avenues West Tract 14800: 48.4%, giving this tract a ranking of 228 out of 296 tracts in Milwaukee County.

Concordia Tract 13500: 46.5%, giving this tract a ranking of 243 out of 296 tracts in Milwaukee County.

Concordia Tract 13600: 55.4%, giving this tract a ranking of 184 out of 296 tracks in Milwaukee County.

Merrill Park Tract 13400: 44.3%, giving this tract a ranking of 256 out of 296 tracts in Milwaukee County. 

Piggsville Tract 13300: 59.6%, giving this tract a ranking of 147 out of 296 tracts in Milwaukee County. 

Miller Valley Tract 12300: 48.7%, giving this tract a ranking of 223 out of 296 tracts in Milwaukee county. 

Martin Drive Tract 12500: 68.6%, giving this tract a ranking of 77 out of 296 tracts in Milwaukee County.

Martin Drive tract 12400: 58.6%, giving this tract a ranking of 156 out of 296 tracts in Milwaukee County.

Cold Spring Park: tract 12200: 50.3%, giving this tract a ranking of 218 out of 296 tracts in Milwaukee County.

At this moment most of the neighborhoods in the Near West Side community fall short of the 60% average. However, in the time from January to February the vaccination rates went up in these same communities. As more and more information about the vaccines is distributed to Near West Side residents by the Ambassadors, it is likely that these numbers will continue to rise.

To gain more insight into the outreach conducted by NWSP’s Ambassadors I spoke with Duane Henderson-Stokes, one of the NWSP Ambassadors and longtime Near West Side resident. He told me that a large part of their outreach is canvassing the different neighborhoods and handing out informational material such as door hangers. These door hangers provide information on where residents can get a vaccine, what to expect when getting a vaccine, as well as other resources. As well as door hangers, the ambassadors have strategically placed A-frame boards, and floor decals in businesses with heavy foot traffic. These boards and decals are filled with vaccine information, as well as scannable QR codes that let people know where they can receive a vaccine. However, Henderson-Stokes admitted that sometimes the boards and decals can be pushed to the side in these stores, limiting their visibility. As such it has become part of the routine for the Ambassadors to check in on these informational boards to make sure that the public is able to easily access the information.

Pictured above: Henderson-Stokes with one of the A-frame boards.

To hear Henderson-Stokes elaborate more on the Ambassadors’ outreach listen to the clips below.