Fifty percent of all Wisconsin residents are now completely vaccinated against COVID-19, and just over 53 percent are partially vaccinated, state data shows.
It's a milestone officials and health experts have been pushing for since the vaccines were given emergency approval at the beginning of the year. Though herd immunity - typically set at around 80 percent - remains far in the horizon.
The numbers are even better for Wisconsin residents 18 years or older. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reportsof that group, just over 60 percent are fully vaccinated, and 64 percent are partially vaccinated. The vaccines are currently only available for those 12 years and older.
Vaccination rates saw a small boost amid a summer surge in COVID-19 cases spurred by the new delta variant of the virus. On Thursday, the DHS reported a seven-day average of 1,139 cases per day, the highest average recorded since early February.
A total of 7,471 people have died in Wisconsin from complications caused by the coronavirus. The rate of those deaths leveled by May. Adults in all 50 states became eligible for the three vaccines the month before.
On Tuesday, the DHS reported the seven-day average number of hospitalizations connected to the coronavirus was 435 - the highest that number has been since mid-February.