MILWAUKEE — As Wisconsin finalizes the list of those eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, the Biden administration announced more vaccines will be heading to states along with clarity on the amount they’ll receive.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announced Tuesday that education and child care workers, people in Medicaid long-term care programs, public-facing essential workers, non-frontline healthcare personnel and people who live in congregate living are all eligible when the state vaccinates group 1b.
The state of Wisconsin hopes to start vaccinations for that group on March 1, but says it all depends on how much of the vaccine they get from the federal government.
“If our allocation increases we’ll be able to move up that date, if it decreases we may have to postpone it,” said Deputy Secretary of DHS, Julie Williems Van Dijk.
Late Tuesday, the Biden administration announced that it would send 15 percent more vaccine doses to states as early as next week. Williems Van Dijk says another issue has been the inconsistency of the doses sent to the state, and the inability to plan ahead.
The president also vowed to change that Tuesday by sending states a three-week forecast of what they can expect.
“This is going to help governors, mayors, and local leaders have greater certainty around supply, so they can carry out their plans to vaccinate as many people as possible,” President Biden said.
The Biden administration also announced the federal government would purchase 200 million more doses of the vaccine from Pfizer and Moderna.