How to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Wisconsin: Vaccine hunters share tips

By Bram Sable-Smith

WPR / Wisconsin Watch

Robin Davis was thrilled to learn that Wisconsin considered her family qualified for the COVID-19 vaccination from March 1. This offered hope that she and her children could safely venture out of their home in Milwaukee.

Last year, the 56-year-old woman spent most of the time squatting with her son, 26, and her daughter, 23 – both with autism.

It proved lonely and difficult, Davis said, but in the end it was worth it. Her husband, more than 30 years ago, died of pneumonia in 2019, and she fears getting COVID-19. She remains the legal guardian of her adult children, responsible for medical and financial decisions.

Davis has his own physical disabilities and the family participates in IRIS, Wisconsin’s self-directed program for frail older adults and adults with disabilities. That is why all three were eligible to receive vaccines this month.

But Davis was not sure how to make an appointment. The sign-up sites she found were unable to demystify the process.

That’s when she saw a TMJ4 News story about a Facebook group called Milwaukee & WI Area Vaccine Hunters and Angels, where Wisconsin residents share tips for getting appointments.

She joined the group and posted her story. This connected her with the group’s founder Bob Orech, who said he made it his “personal mission” to find vaccines for the Davis family. Orech linked her to a Walgreens pharmacist she met through the group. Davis and the two children received their first injections the next day.

“I think this is one of the stories I’m most proud of,” said Orech, 47, regional retail manager in Germantown, Wisconsin.

Facebook’s fast-growing group helped many Wisconsin residents navigate the state’s COVID-19 vaccine bureaucracy. Wisconsin is among the nation’s leaders in delivering vaccines to those who want them, but demand still outstrips supply and some eligible residents are still struggling to find nominations.

The Facebook group is among the dozens emerging across the country, in which members share ideas for scheduling vaccines. Some, like Orech, even make appointments for others. They are known as “angels”.

Orech started the group in late February, after members of a Facebook group in Chicago helped him find appointments for his parents in the Chicago suburbs. If that approach worked in Chicago, he thought, why not Wisconsin? On Thursday afternoon, some 2,700 people joined the Milwaukee group.

Wisconsin administered more than 1.8 million vaccines as of Thursday. About one in five Wisconsin residents received at least one dose of vaccine and more than one in ten is fully vaccinated, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Wisconsin Watch and WPR spoke to eight residents who received vaccines. Here are your insights.

Work with a medical provider

Lisa Kirchberg, 67, did not have many problems getting vaccinated in Milwaukee. Her health care provider – who is connected with Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin – sent her a letter in February saying she was eligible and could make an appointment over the phone.

She followed instructions and received her first dose of the vaccine on February 13 and scheduled her second injection for March 15.

“I really want this. I was never afraid of that,” said Kirchberg, adding that he followed the COVID-19 protocols closely while living in a building with 500 people.

Search when and where to sign up

Each medical provider has its own vaccine appointment system.

DHS maintains a searchable map of vaccine providers in Wisconsin, which displays vaccine registration sites for healthcare providers, county health departments and pharmacies. Some local governments offer their own sign-up portals.

But the available times can be filled quickly. Orech said members of his group collected patterns that revealed the best times to book at certain locations. Walgreens, for example, seems to start accepting new appointments daily at 6 am, offering early risers an advantage. Other pharmacies like CVS, Walmart and Meijer are moving targets, said Orech.

Many websites require vaccine candidates to create an account. Orech suggests doing this early to save precious time after reserves are opened.

Be willing to travel

A supply chain worker in Madison qualified for vaccination on March 1, when Wisconsin expanded eligibility for essential non-frontal health workers. The 24-year-old asked not to be named, saying he feared the negative attention of people who might consider him unworthy because of his age. He tried unsuccessfully for three days to schedule an appointment at a Walgreens in Madison.

On the fourth day – while he was half awake, agreeing to his Australian sheepdog’s requirement to go outside – he realized that scheduling an appointment in his hometown, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, could be easier. He made an appointment at Walgreens there on the first try.

He said the hour-long trip last week was worth it. But he feels guilty for getting an injection while his father – who is under 65 but is considered to be at high risk for COVID-19 – is still not eligible.

On Thursday, Wisconsin announced that it would expand the vaccine’s eligibility to people with certain medical conditions starting March 29. DHS expects to make all residents aged 16 and over eligible in May.

Ask for leftovers

Tom Kastle, a 64-year-old Madison folk singer, actor and high-ranking sailor, earned much of his pre-pandemic income from shows he played in nursing homes in and around Wisconsin. The fact that companies dried up as long-term care facilities – now linked to 30% of COVID-19-related deaths in Wisconsin – prevented visitors from controlling the spread of the disease.

A friend and fellow folk singer recently sent Kastle a postcard presenting himself as “vaccinated, masked and performing live”. Another friend told Kastle that nursing homes were vaccinating their independent contractors. Kastle added two plus two. When a nursing home asked him for a St. Patrick’s Day concert, Kastle asked how he would be vaccinated. He received his first dose on February 24.

Others managed to mark the remaining vaccines.

Orech said members of his Facebook group called pharmacies later in the day to ask for leftovers that could expire and be thrown away – due to missed appointments, for example.

“Pharmacists love their customers. They really do, ”said Orech. “They care for our families more than we ever imagined.”

Some vaccination sites offer waiting lists for people who agree to show up quickly to receive a remaining dose. Other vaccine hunters spontaneously came to vaccination sites to ask for extras close to closing time. More than a million people have also signed up for extras through Dr. B, a nationwide web startup that brings people together with local providers.

Find immediate appointments

Many vaccine hunting tips involve time, technology and resources, illustrating how vulnerable communities can lose out. Hashim Zaibak, founder and pharmacist at Hayat Pharmacy in Milwaukee, sees this problem clearly.

The limitations of poor Internet access emerged at the beginning of the pandemic, said Zaibak, when Governor Tony Evers’ administration unveiled a test registration site COVID-19 that required an email address. Hayat, who has more than a dozen locations, also offers tests for residents – some of whom do not have access to a smartphone, email address or any type of Internet access. Some do not speak English.

That is why the pharmacy has hired employees to register members of the community for testing.

“We said to our employees, ‘Hey, this platform was made for someone who is young, tech savvy and knows how to maneuver the Internet. But people in our community may not be able to do that. So help them, ‘”said Zaibak.

Access to the vaccine represents a similar challenge. Hayat’s solution: offer direct service at multiple locations, including six days a week at 813 W. Layton Ave. in Milwaukee, the pharmacy headquarters.

“We had slow days when we vaccinated only 50 or 60 people, and we had some very, very busy days when we were getting close to 1,000 a day,” said Zaibak.

Zaibak said Hayat administered more doses than the state expected, and pharmacies did not waste doses. If extra doses remain near the end of the day, employees immediately call eligible people who are waiting on Hayat’s waiting list.

Looking for a second dose

Davis, Milwaukee’s widow, hopes to complete her family’s vaccination. She hopes to go out more often with her children and friends and breathe fresh air. Her daughter works 15 hours a week at Goodwill. Davis hopes the vaccine will provide enough protection for his son to start working part-time again.

But first, they need a second round of doses and have not yet made these appointments. The Davis family initially received the Moderna vaccine, and the company recommends waiting a month between doses.

As that date approaches, Davis is again looking for compromises.

This story comes from a partnership of Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Public Radio and NPR. Bram Sable-Smith is Mike Simonson Memorial Investigative Fellow of the WPR incorporated in the Wisconsin Watch newsroom (www.Wis WisconsinWatch.org), which collaborates with WPR, PBS Wisconsin, other media and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by Wisconsin Watch do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.