BLACK CREEK, Wis. — It was something Kenneth Wickesberg wanted to do — get a COVID-19 vaccination.

Thanks to a new series of clinics in rural communities in northeast Wisconsin, he was able to get his shot Wednesday in Black Creek.

What You Need To Know

  • A little more than 50% of eligible people in Wisconsin have had at least one vaccination shot

  • Public health departments in three northeast Wisconsin counties are taking vaccines to small, rural, towns on a weekly basis

  • Locations include: Black Creek, Shiocton, New Holstein, Brillion, Fox Crossing and Nekimi

“I heard about that variant and I was going to go, but I saw they were going to have this here and I was like, 'Why not?,’” Wickesberg said shortly after his vaccination.

The clinics are an effort between public health departments in Outagaime, Calumet and Winnebago counties.

They’re operated in conjunction with the Wisconsin National Guard.

“As we’ve transitioned from the mass clinics or the larger clinics — for example the exhibition center in downtown Appleton — we’re really looking to provide opportunity for those in our more rural parts of the county and do that at these clinics is how we can serve them,” said J.P. Heim of the Outagamie Public Health Department.

The weekly clinics are scheduled in six communities at the same places, same days, and same times through late August.

For instance, the Black Creek clinic is each Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Black Creek is a small town about 40 minutes west of Green Bay.

It’s part of a wider state effort to keep the vaccination momentum moving forward.

“The analogy I use is a bucket of water and every drop fills that bucket,” Heim said. “Being able to get out into our communities and provide these opportunities is what we need to be doing at this point.”

Clinics are staffed by members of the Wisconsin National Guard. That’s people like Private First Class Erick Nicia, who is from Lake Geneva.

“It actually is very rewarding being here, knowing I’m making a difference in helping people go back to that normality that we hope to get to,” he said.

For Wickesberg, having a clinic close to home made the process easier.

“I just wanted to get it done,” he said. “I knew it was something I wanted to do.

Here are the scheduled locations and times for the Regional Vaccine Tour: