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As COVID-19 vaccine — and federal funding — flows into Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday pushed up the eligibility for residents with certain underlying health conditions to March 22. This group includes an estimated 2 million people with conditions including heart or liver problems, obesity, diabetes and cancer. It also includes people who are pregnant or immunocompromised. These residents had been scheduled to become eligible a week later, on March 29. Milwaukee County further expanded eligibility to anyone 18 or older living in 10 at-risk ZIP codes.
Top Stories
Vaccine eligibility for next phase moved a week earlier — Associated Press
Wisconsin inmates say prisons didn’t protect them from COVID-19 as infection rates skyrocketed — WUWM
Wisconsin’s local governments to see $2.3B windfall from federal COVID relief package — Wisconsin State Journal
Federal relief bill means an estimated $1.4B for Wisconsin schools — WPR
City says it is ‘reviewing’ Safer Racine rules; for now, RUSD football teams to compete elsewhere — Journal Times
COVID-19 vaccinations outpacing state — Juneau County Star-Times
Death in the prime of life: Covid-19 proves especially lethal to younger Latinos — Washington Post
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Quotable
“Our vaccinators across the state are doing great work to get folks vaccinated and get this done, and because of their good work, Wisconsin continues to be a national leader in getting shots in arms. Moving up eligibility for this critical group will help us get over the finish line and sooner, and get us back to our Wisconsin way of life.”
— Gov. Tony Evers, setting March 22 as the date residents with underlying health conditions can be vaccinated.
Data to note
Here’s a look at the Department of Health Services’ vaccine dashboard, which showed Wednesday that 68.9% of Wisconsinites ages 65 and older have gotten at least one dose — as have 21.9% of the state’s overall population. Racial disparities persist in distributing vaccines. The shares of Black, Hispanic and Native American residents to receive a dose remain below that of white residents.
Public health officials continue to urge Wisconsinites to wear masks and practice physical distancing until vaccinations are more widely distributed. On Tuesday, DHS reported 480 additional cases and three new deaths, raising the statewide death toll to 6,539.
WisContext offers this visualization:
Find a vaccine site near you
DHS has this interactive map of vaccine providers across Wisconsin. Vaccinations are generally by appointment only and it may take time to schedule appointments with providers due to limited supplies of vaccines.
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‘Keep creating’: Madison high schools make theater virtually —Cap Times
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Vaccine eligibility moved up for residents with health conditions — 3/16/21 is a post from WisconsinWatch.org, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
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