DHS and GOP point to the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine in Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. – The road to collective immunity is starting a little rough. Republican lawmakers and the Evers administration are accusing the slow implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine in Wisconsin.

If you ask state health officials about the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine, they will say that they have made incredible progress.

“I think we’re really catching up,” said Julie Willems Van Dijk, deputy secretary of DHS in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Republicans take a different view.

“This is unacceptable,” said state deputy Joe Sanfelippo (R-New Berlin).

“This is unacceptable,” said state senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills).

“This is absolutely unacceptable,” said Assembly President Robin Vos (R-Rochester).

When Governor Tony Evers gave his annual State of the State address on Tuesday night, he used the word “vaccine” only twice.

“We are working to distribute the vaccine doses as quickly and fairly as possible,” said Evers.

But the president of the Assembly, Vos, made the vaccine launch a highlight of his response.

“There seems to be no sense of urgency with the Evers administration,” said Vos. “Wisconsin is a disgrace compared to other states.”

CDC data shows that Wisconsin is behind other states in vaccine administration – 41st in the country on Friday, January 15.

“We are using it, as fast as we received the vaccines from the federal government, are we going to put them in the arms of the general public?” asked Sanfelippo.

On Thursday, the State Assembly’s Health Committee asked an DHS executive for an explanation.

“I want to make it clear that this supply chain is not under Wisconsin control. What we receive weekly is an allocation from the federal government,” said Lisa Olson, assistant deputy secretary for DHS.

Olson told lawmakers that they are receiving only 70,000 doses a week from Washington – a per capita rate that is 47th in the country.

“It is the number of doses that enter our state,” said Willems Van Dijk.

Willems Van Dijk said that once the vaccine is here, they still need to get it to the right people.

“This is a really complex process and I think we did an incredible job,” said Willems Van Dijk.

But state deputy Joe Sanfelippo said that is where the system is mired.

“I was contacted by vacciners telling me that we have vaccine on the shelf, ready to go. But we have already examined all approved people so far and we cannot get any response from DHS if we continue to vaccinate,” said Sanfelippo.

This is because the state has not yet decided who should be vaccinated next.

“The launch did not go very well,” said Jonathan Temte, Co-Chair of the Vaccine Subcommittee.

Last week, a state vaccine subcommittee released a Phase 1b plan for public comment. Next week, he returns to the subcommittee – which sends it to the entire committee – which sends it to the governor for final approval.

“When we reach an agreement on who will be in group 1B, the rest of the country will have already overtaken us,” said Sanfelippo.

“The federal government has given us guidelines, I think they are very reasonable,” said Darling.

Senator Darling said the entire exercise is unnecessary, since there are already federal guidelines for each phase.

“They are duplicating the list that the federal government has released,” said Darling.

As Republicans and the Evers administration point the finger, millions of Wisconsin residents still wonder when they will get a vaccine. If there is one thing that everyone agrees on – time is of the essence.

“We share your interest in getting vaccines to arms as quickly as possible,” said Olson.

“This is a very important issue. People’s lives are at stake. We must focus on one thing and only one thing. Vaccinate as many people as possible,” said Sanfelippo.

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State health officials say it may be May or June before mass vaccination is available to the general public.

The CEO of Medical College of Wisconsin said he “hopes” that we can begin to relax some restrictions on COVID-19 this summer. But he said the key is to have 75% of the population exposed to the virus, whether by infection or vaccination.