As of Tuesday, February 9, Wisconsin had been allocated about 1,150,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses from the federal government. Vaccinating providers in the state had ordered about 900,000 doses, while the remaining doses were set aside specifically for the residents and staff of skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. Nearly 800,000 vaccine doses have been administered, while about 175,000 Wisconsin residents had completed the two-dose series. About one-third of Wisconsinites age 65 and older have been vaccinated.
Currently, the state is focused on vaccinating frontline health care workers, law enforcement officers, firefighters, correctional personnel, and people age 65 and older. The next vaccine priority group includes educators, utility and public transit workers, food supply chain personnel, non-frontline healthcare personnel, and the staff and residents of congregate living facilities. DHS estimates that this group, totaling around 600,000 people, will be eligible for vaccines beginning March 1.
As of February 9, Wisconsin had administered nearly 3.1 million tests for COVID-19 since early 2020. Of those tests, about 551,000 were positive. Just over 6,000 people with COVID-19 have died in Wisconsin, representing about 1.1 percent of all cases. Since the beginning of January, the average percentage of positive tests out of total tests has been declining.
All vaccine and testing data are from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS).
DHS Announces First Community Vaccine Site; FEMA Awards $47 Million to DHS
On Monday, February 8, Governor Tony Evers and DHS announced that they will work with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare to set up the state’s first community-based COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Rock County. The facility is set to open on February 16.
DHS believes the site will vaccinate 250 people per day at launch and will eventually be able to administer 1,000 vaccines per day. The agency plans to establish up to 10 more community-based vaccination sites across the state, depending on local needs and available vaccine supply.
Last week, it was reported that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had awarded a $47 million grant to DHS to support the distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines in Wisconsin.