MADISON, Wis. – A state vaccine advisory panel approved on Friday morning, January 8, a plan for the next phase of vaccine distribution that includes more than a million Wisconsin residents. The plan still needs approval from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. It is expected to come out for public comment in the coming days.
The plan approved by the DHS Vaccine Distribution Subcommittee includes all Wisconsin residents aged 70 and over (approximately 550,000 people), first responders (30,000), education staff (160,000), prison staff (10,000), incarcerated people (20,000) ) and those who live or work in “coexistence” environments (80,000).
The subcommittee’s vote was not unanimous. At least three members refused to support the vote, including Rob Gundermann, CEO of the Coalition for Wisconsin Aging and Health Groups. Gundermann told his fellow committee members that he did not support the inclusion of cohabitants and, most notably, prisoners in Phase 1 B. “This is very difficult, logistically,” said Gundermann. “If we can keep Phase 1B as limited as possible, we can overcome it as quickly as possible.”
Mary Muse, director of nursing for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and a voting member of the subcommittee, made a passionate three-minute statement to the committee, saying, “I don’t see how we can move forward and not approach this population,” citing nearly 25 deaths among the population prison until now.
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One of the committee’s co-chairs, Ann Lewandowksi, pointed out that the inclusion of incarcerated individuals was a “political issue” that will have to be reviewed by “political people”, probably referring to DHS secretary Andrea Palm and Governor Tony Evers . “This is beyond our control,” she said.
The Vaccine Distribution Subcommittee intends to have a finalized written plan to present for public comment at its next meeting, which is Tuesday, January 12.
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