All Wisconsin residents 16 and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine beginning April 5, Gov. Tony Evers announced Tuesday.
That puts the state weeks ahead of schedule, as officials originally anticipated Wisconsin would be able to open eligibility to the general public on May 1.
“We knew all along our COVID-19 vaccination program would be a massive undertaking, and we’re proud Wisconsin is currently leading the country in these efforts and that we’re now able to give all Wisconsinites 16 and older the opportunity to get vaccinated,” Evers said. “This marks a major milestone in our state’s fight against this virus and gets us closer to overcoming this pandemic and bouncing back together.”
The state widened eligibility to another roughly 2 million people last week, when it began vaccinating people 16 and older with certain medical conditions.
To date, the state has administered over 2.75 million vaccine doses, and more than 1 million people have been fully vaccinated. The state’s seven-day average for vaccine distribution is 48,474 doses per day.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services also announced Tuesday that seven new pharmacy partners, representing about 600 pharmacy locations, will begin administering vaccines as part of a federal partnership.
The pharmacies include Costco, CVS and Hy-Vee locations, as well as independent pharmacy networks Good Neighbor and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., Health Mart, Medicine Shoppe and Cardinal Health, and Topco.
Beginning this week, the 595 participating pharmacies will be able to order nearly 95,000 first doses directly from the federal government to begin administering to eligible Wisconsinites.
CVS will begin scheduling appointments today, and Costco plans to start scheduling appointments by Friday.
On Monday, President Joe Biden said 90% of adults in the U.S. will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine by April 19, and has called on states to make all adults eligible no later than May 1.
To find a local vaccine provider visit the COVID-19 vaccine provider map or visit vaccinefinder.org
