FEMA Joins Wisconsin Center Vaccine Site

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has begun staffing and coordinating vaccinations at the Wisconsin Center vaccine site.

State and local officials have been saying for weeks that they were working on a partnership with the federal agency for a vaccination site. Now the State of Wisconsin, Milwaukee County, City of Milwaukee and FEMA are all partnering in providing vaccinations at 400 W. Wisconsin Ave.

A press release from Gov. Tony Evers said operations began transitioning to the FEMA Region 5 office this week, and the site will receive 7,000 doses of vaccine from the state.

“This vaccination center is an important resource for expanding and expediting vaccine availability to communities that need it the most,” said Kevin M. Sligh, acting Region 5 commissioner.

The City of Milwaukee Health Department has been running the site since January when vaccinations began. Now, the federal agency will “coordinate staffing support to administer the COVID-19 vaccine,” according to the statement from the governor’s office.

Mayor Tom Barrett said the arrival of FEMA was a “valuable addition” to the local vaccination efforts. “The new people and resources help expand our capacity, and, importantly, allows us to redeploy local vaccinators to underserved and under-vaccinated areas of the city,” he said.

Under the new partnership the site is now open to all eligible vaccine candidates, regardless of where they live in the state. Vaccine appointments at the Wisconsin Center can still be made through the city Health Department’s vaccine website.

Said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley: “It is our hope the site will free up resources at the municipal level and allow for targeting communities heavily impacted by the disease, but underserved in the deployment of the vaccine thus far.”

Evers said the federal agency is providing staffing at a “critical time” as the state starts receiving more vaccine and finds itself needing more vaccinators. 

“This mass vaccination clinic can help with the larger population while allowing our partners at the city and county levels to focus on getting the vaccine to more vulnerable populations in harder to reach areas of their communities,” he said.

The pace of vaccination is likely going to rapidly increase in coming months as the supply of vaccine grows.

President Joe Biden recently announced that he will be directing state, tribal and local officials to open up eligibility for the vaccine to every adult in the country by May 1st. The state recently announced it would open up the vaccine to those with pre-existing conditions that put them at risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes.