Nearly 40,000 Doses of Vaccine Administered

Wisconsin residents started receiving COVID-19 vaccinations two weeks ago, and as of Monday, 39,501 doses have been administered.

Given the current number of vaccinations, the state is averaging approximately 2.8 thousand vaccinations a day.

Since last week, both the Pfizer/Biotech and the Moderna vaccine have been in use. The Moderna vaccine was approved more than a week ago, and the first shipment arrived in Wisconsin on December 22nd, and vaccinations with it began that day.

The vast majority of the state’s vaccinations have been with the Pfizer vaccine, according to the state Department of Health Services (DHS). Of the more than 39,000 that have been administered, 35,595 have been Pfizer vaccine. Just 3,905 doses of the Moderna vaccine have been given.

Thus far, Wisconsin has received 129,675 doses of Pfizer and 135,900 doses of Moderna vaccine. Approximately 500 doses of the Moderna Vaccine were spoiled this past weekend at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton when they were inadvertently left out overnight after being removed from a pharmacy refrigerator.

Both vaccines are mRNA vaccines, which use a small piece of the virus to teach the body to identify and beat the virus. The vaccine does not enter the part of the cell that stores DNA and it is broken down by the body once the spike protein needed to recognize and defeat the virus is created.

The state has also started on-site vaccinations at long-term care facilities to residents and staff. Walgreens and CVS have partnered with the state to provide full-spectrum management of the vaccination process for eligible facilities. The pharmacy companies will store and handle the vaccine, administer it and also take responsibility for scheduling and reporting requirements.

The program is intended to relieve long-term care facilities of the pressure on their daily operations that overseeing a vaccination program would cause, Governor Tony Evers said in a statement, adding that “Protecting our most vulnerable Wisconsinites is a top priority and will be a critical step for the success of Wisconsin’s COVID-19 Vaccine Program.”

56,800 doses of the Moderna vaccine have been allocated to the pharmacies for this program. Andrea Palm, DHS secretary-designee, said the state reserved the vaccines ahead of time for this program.

Long-term care residents and staff are part of Phase 1a of the vaccination regimen developed based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Also included in phase 1a are COVID-19 frontline health care workers.