MILWAUKEE — State health officials in Wisconsin are expanding eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine to everyone age 65 and older starting Monday, Jan. 25.
Despite increasing who can receive the shot, local health leaders are calling for patience.
“There are many logistical challenges to ramping up,” said Medical College of Wisconsin President and CEO Dr. John Raymond on Wisconsin’s Afternoon News. “Much of our vaccine is the Pfizer vaccine, which requires ultra cold chain storage.”
Dr. Raymond says because of that, it’ll be difficult to move that vaccine from the 16 hubs set up by the state health department to the public across the state.
“I ask everyone to be patient, but I do know that our health systems here in southeastern in Wisconsin all are rolling out ramp up plans that involve distribution through their network of clinics, and we should hear more about that in the upcoming few days,” he said.
As of Tuesday, the state has administered 248,145 doses of the vaccine. The federal government has allocated 779,800 doses to Wisconsin.
The state currently receives about 70,000 doses of the vaccine per week. Health leaders estimate about 700,000 people over the age of 65 across Wisconsin.
Listen to the complete health and economy briefing from Dr. Raymond and Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce President Tim Sheehy in the player above.
