By Madalyn O Neill
Jan 13, 2021 7:29 PM
Tuesday morning, the State Disaster Medical Advisory Committee (SDMAC) Vaccine Subcommittee met to finalize its recommendations for Phase 1B, which will be sent to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The experts’ recommendations include people older than 70, people living in congregate settings such as Family Care, jails or shelters, and frontline essential workers such as first responders, educators and child care workers with direct interaction with students.
“As the group has thought about populations, they’ve really focused on who is most vulnerable. Who is most at risk?” DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk said. “What essential services do we need to make sure are in place?”
Smaller, rural hospitals quickly moving through phase 1A vaccinations
January 11, 2021 6:47 PM Amanda Quintana
Updated:
PRAIRIE DU SAC, Wis. A representative at Sauk Prairie Healthcare said that by the end of the day Monday, all employees who had requested a vaccine would be vaccinated. That includes about 470 employees at multiple locations.
Although there was an initial delay in receiving its first delivery of a COVID-19 vaccine, Sauk Prairie Healthcare has quickly vaccinated its employees. While many large hospitals received a first shipment on Dec. 14, Sauk Prairie Hospital had to wait until Dec. 23.
For comparison, UW Health has vaccinated 9,500 of its 13,000 employees who are eligible for a vaccine in the first phase.
Wisconsin Examiner
Madison has been selected as the hub for regional vaccine distribution. (Photo of by John Maniaci, UW Health).
Florence County is one of just 110 counties nationwide without a retail pharmacy capable of providing immunization services. Five other rural counties in Wisconsin have just one such pharmacy.Â
The availability of several COVID-19 vaccine access points will be important for immunizing people in the hard-to-reach rural corners of the country, yet hundreds of counties donât have adequate access to retail pharmacies, according to a policy brief from the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis at the University of Iowa.
Vaccine provides light at the end of the tunnel
By Eileen Persike
Editor
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story indicated that Phase 1b vaccinations would begin later this month. In fact, Phase 1a vaccines are continuing, with assisted living facilities and non-healthcare frontline worker