MADISON, Wisconsin (WMTV) – Gov. Tony Evers and state health officials urged the federal government on Friday to send more of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Wisconsin after being told Thursday they would be getting fewer doses than they thought.
“This is unacceptable,” said Governor Evers. “Wisconsin residents deserve the vaccine promised by the federal government.”
According to a press release, the state will receive only 35,100 doses of the vaccine. Gov. Evers stressed that this is far less than the 48,725 initially assigned to Wisconsinites. On Friday, Wisconsin had nearly 452,000 positive cases and 4,315 deaths.
“Our health workers and long-term care residents need this vaccine that is ready and available,” said the governor.
Officials asked the federal government to give them reasons for why vaccines are assigned as they are. Gov. Evers noted that health workers are working around the clock to distribute the vaccine, but this late week announcement of fewer shipments than expected makes logistics planning “incredibly challenging.”
Little explanation was given about the delays, but senior Trump administration officials cited a semantic confusion on Thursday, while Pfizer said production levels have not changed.
Several other states say they have also been told to expect far fewer doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the second week of distribution.
California, where an explosion in cases puts intensive care units to breaking point, will receive 160,000 less vaccine doses next week than government officials expected – a reduction of about 40%.
Missouri health director Dr. Randall Williams, said his state will get 25% to 30% less of the vaccine than expected next week. A statement from the Iowa Department of Public Health said the allocation will be “reduced by as much as 30%, but we are working to get confirmation and additional details from our federal partners.”
Shipment from Michigan will take about a quarter. Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Indiana would also expect smaller shipments.
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