Gov. Tony Evers calls smaller shipment of COVID-19 vaccines next week ‘unacceptable’

3 min readDec 19, 2020

Gov. Tony Evers on Friday lambasted news that Wisconsin will receive almost 15,000 fewer doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in next week’s shipment as “unacceptable.”

“Wisconsin citizens deserve the vaccine the federal government promised,” Evers said in a statement. “Our healthcare workers and long-term care residents need this vaccine that is ready and available. We call on the federal government to send us more vaccine without delay.”

Wisconsin is one of several states expecting to see fewer doses of the Pfizer vaccine next week, creating potential challenges as officials dry to dole out the already limited resource.

In the statement, Evers said Wisconsin has been especially hard hit by the pandemic due in part to Republican-led challenges that have limited the governor’s ability to pass orders limiting business activity or gatherings. Evers had previously asked the federal government to prioritize the state when distributing vaccines, citing the same challenges to mitigation efforts.

As of Wednesday, 1,010 doses of the Pfizer vaccine had been administered to health care workers in 45 counties. That was up from 192 vaccinations on Tuesday.

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Speaking with reporters Thursday, DHS Secretary Andrea Palm said the state anticipated a smaller number of doses from Pfizer next week. She added the state’s slow rollout of the vaccine is due in part to the the fragile nature of the Pfizer vaccine, which has to be stored at ultra-cold temperatures and has a limited lifespan once it is thawed out.

“What we all want more than anything is to maximize the number of doses that we have and make sure they get in arms and make sure we don’t waste any of that vaccine,” Palm said.

Wisconsin also expects to receive 101,000 doses of a second vaccine by Moderna as early as next week. Moderna’s vaccine, which received FDA approval Friday, does not require ultra-cold storage.

State officials estimate it will take several weeks before the state’s roughly 400,000 health care workers and approximately 57,000 nursing home residents are vaccinated. After that, other populations will receive priority, but it may be summer before those in the general public can receive a vaccine.

Evers also called on the federal government for clarity on future vaccine allocations. Currently, states are not informed of their next allocation until just days before it ships, which Evers said complicates distribution efforts by the state Department of Health Services, Wisconsin National Guard and Wisconsin Emergency Management.

DHS reported 3,235 cases and another 60 deaths Friday, bringing the total to more than 451,000 cases and 4,315 deaths since the pandemic began.

DHS also reports 17 counties are experiencing “critically high” case activity and statewide hospital bed availability is at 13%. Thirty-six percent of hospitals expect to reach critical staffing shortages within the next week.

Gov. Tony Evers calls smaller shipment of COVID-19 vaccines next week ‘unacceptable’

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Written by Candaranipipo