Governor Evers discusses spending plan, efforts to combat COVID-19
Governor Tony Evers will discuss his spending plan for the next biennium and efforts to tackle the COVID-19 crisis last year during a Wisconsin Health News Newsmaker event.
MADISON, Wis. – People aged 16 and over with certain pre-existing conditions in Wisconsin will be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine starting on Monday, a week earlier than previously announced, said Governor Tony Evers on Tuesday.
Last week, the state said people in that eligibility group who are most at risk for health could be vaccinated starting March 29.
“Our vaccinators across the state are doing a great job of vaccinating people,” said Evers in a statement. “Increasing eligibility for this critical group will help us cross the finish line and earlier, and will take us back to our way of life in Wisconsin.”
Qualifying conditions include moderate to severe asthma; Cancer; diabetes; high blood pressure, Down syndrome; and being overweight with a body mass index of 25 or more. Pregnant women are also eligible.
Evers’ administration on Tuesday also clarified that all clergy are now eligible, as well as judges, prosecutors, public defenders and other key criminal court officials.
The general public will become eligible on May 1 and it is possible that this will happen sooner, Evers said during a virtual event organized by Wisconsin Health News.
“We will always try to push up,” said Evers. “We want to be shot in the arms of people.”
As of Monday, 23.1% of people in Wisconsin had received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly 69% of people over 65 have received at least one dose, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Also Tuesday, the Assembly passed a bill that would allow dentists to administer the vaccine and also the flu vaccine, as long as they go through eight hours of training.
About 20 states have expanded who can administer the COVID-19 vaccine in an effort to speed up vaccinations and slow the spread of the virus. Dentists in neighboring Minnesota and Illinois are already allowed to give the vaccine.
There are about 3,500 dentists in Wisconsin who could be recruited to help with vaccinations.
The bill now goes to the Senate.
The Assembly also passed a bill that would allow some health care providers from outside the state, including doctors, nurses, dentists and pharmacists, to work in Wisconsin.
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The Republican-controlled legislature took action on Tuesday to block the rules that Evers wanted to prohibit homeowners from charging late rent fees and would allow limited-time state officials to take unpaid vacations during the pandemic. The Senate and the Assembly used a procedural move to prevent these rules.