MADISON, WI (WTAQ) — Governor Tony Evers is repeating his call for additional COVID-19 vaccine distribution from the federal government.
Right now the state of Wisconsin gets about 70,000 doses a week from the federal government, but Evers on Thursday said if that keeps up, it will take a long time to vaccinate the next group of people eligible for the vaccine: people over the age of 65.
“There are 700,000 of us, I am part of that category, 65 and up,” Evers said. “It’s going to take time.”
Rather than wait for supply to keep up with demand, the state is moving forward with vaccinating those 65 and up starting on Monday.
Watching the state’s allocation level with particular interest: the Green Bay Area School District Board. They voted earlier this week to keep students virtual until three weeks after the vaccine becomes available to teachers.
It’s not clear, however, when that might occur.
“The time the Green Bay teachers are vaccinated…it’s impossible to guesstimate that,” Evers said. “If we don’t get more vaccine, it’s going to be a long, long time.”
Newly-inaugurated US President Joe Biden has set a goal to get 100 million Americans vaccinated in his first 100 days in office. Nationwide, around 900,000 are vaccinated daily.
As of Thursday, 285,358 doses of vaccine had been administered in Wisconsin.