With over 70 percent of people 65 years or older vaccinated in Wisconsin, theFederal Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care program in the state is now wrapping up.
The federal program helped connect pharmacy companies and their COVID-19 vaccines with residents and workers at long-term care facilities. The program launched at the end of last year, to get the newly released vaccine to those most vulnerable to the coronavirus.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services says over 47,000 staff and 62,000 residents are now vaccinated against the virus thanks to the program.
With the FPP program concluding next week, the federal government will be providing direct allocations to long-term care pharmacies. The DHS said in a statementFriday that many of the pharmacies participating in the program already have relationships with long-term care facilities to provide vaccinations.
“This partnership with CVS and Walgreens, as well as other independent pharmacies, has been a critical part of our efforts to protect Wisconsin’s most vulnerable,” said DHS Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake in the statement.
As of Friday, over 25 percent of Wisconsin residents are fully vaccinated, and 38 percent are partially vaccinated, according to the DHS' COVID-19 dashboard.
Last week, Wisconsin administered a total of 402,000 doses of the vaccine to those who wanted one.