State Health Officials Remind Residents that a Vaccine Won't Fix Things Overnight

Wednesday, December 9th, 2020 -- 11:00 AM

(AP) -State officials worked Monday to tamp down expectations that vaccines will offer a quick way out of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying most of the state’s nearly 6 million people will likely have to wait months for their first shots.

Federal officials appear on the cusp of authorizing a vaccine. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee is expected to meet to discuss emergency authorization for a vaccine developed by Pfizer on Thursday and for a vaccine developed by Moderna on Dec. 17. With authorization imminent, all eyes now turn to the states as they prepare to distribute doses.  State Department of Health Services Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk told reporters during a briefing that Wisconsin is in line to receive an initial shipment of 49,725 Pfizer doses for health care workers and residents of long-term care homes.

Those inoculations will likely begin this month, she said.  The state is also in line to receive another batch of 49,725 doses for those recipients’ second round of inoculations. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two shots given several weeks apart.

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