MADISON, Wisconsin (WBAY) – State leaders acknowledged on Friday that they were below their vaccination targets.
Governor Tony Evers said the Trump administration has a responsibility.
“It was a slap in the face for the people of Wisconsin and, frankly, I have no idea why they made that statement when they knew it wasn’t accurate,” Governor Evers said during a Wisconsin Health Services press conference.
The governor commented on a Washington Post report that the federal government had already sent all second doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to states in late December. These reserve doses would have allowed states to expand who they could vaccinate.
Earlier this week, Governor Evers said that Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar told him that Wisconsin would soon receive reserve doses.
“I think they may have told the truth because it is zero,” he said.
DHS announced on Friday new partnerships with pharmacies and the launch of “mobile vaccination teams from Covid”. Both aim to get more shots into people’s arms.
According to state health officials, they will begin vaccinating long-term care units as part of their plan to move to phase 1B.
DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk said that they are not waiting to vaccinate everyone in Category 1A before starting in 1B.
Several hospital systems across the metropolitan area of Green Bay and Fox Valley are launching new clinics to expand Covid-19 vaccinations. However, the problem is that there may not be enough supply for everyone.
Willems Van Dijk said the state needs 1.4 million vaccines a month, more than three times the amount being received now, to achieve collective immunity by the end of June.
“We are not in a position to open all that. We would simply be crushed by people who want a vaccine and don’t have enough vaccine, which is why we are using this very deliberate approach, ”said Willems Van Dijk.
Governor Tony Evers also announced that his government will establish another public health emergency and will extend the statewide mask requirement for another 60 days.
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