Frederica Freyberg:

Racing against time to outpace the virus, Wisconsin is opening up who can get the vaccine starting at the end of this month and this week said that by May everyone will be able to be vaccinated. By March 29 people with underlying conditions will be eligible, with all adults over the age of 16 able to get the vaccine just a month later. Very promising news and for more, we check in with Interim Secretary of Department of Health Services Karen Timberlake. Thanks for being here.

Karen Timberlake:

You’re very welcome.

Frederica Freyberg:

Opening up the eligibility and making way for all adults to be vaccinated starting in May suggests that Wisconsin will see a major uptick in supply. What’s the federal government telling the state about supply coming in and when?

Karen Timberlake:

We have had a number of weeks of just really good news on the vaccine supply front. So if we think back to just maybe four or five weeks ago, we were getting about 70,000 first doses into the state every week. By next week, we’ll be at about 179,000 first doses. So it’s two and a half times increase from where we were. By early April we’re expecting that to be about 225,000 first doses. By May 250,000. So the news has been really nothing but good on the supply front.

Frederica Freyberg:

As to the eligibility for vaccine being expanded at the end of this month, it includes people who have underlying conditions like cancer or heart disease. How many additional people is that in the queue for the vaccine?

Karen Timberlake:

We estimated that will be about another two million Wisconsinites who will be in that eligibility group and that’s because between the research that scientists at the CDC and elsewhere lead and certainly the review by our own state medical advisers it’s really a fairly long list of underlying medical conditions that we want to make sure we reach out to people with those conditions, make sure they understand that they will be eligible as of the very end of March to get in line, as you say, and get that vaccine.

Frederica Freyberg:

One of those includes being simply overweight. Will people have to verify their conditions?

Karen Timberlake:

Our expectation of our vaccinators is that they will not require any particular verification. We do ask people to sign an attestation form that they are eligible to receive the vaccine. We also know for these underlying medical conditions, our health care partners, our hospitals, our clinics, our community clinics, our pharmacies, they’re well aware of their patient populations that have underlying medical conditions and we know they will do a great job of outreach.

Frederica Freyberg:

You’ve also just added a new category of people to the eligibility list and that is restaurant workers. When are they eligible?

Karen Timberlake:

They’re eligible starting right now. So in the current groups of people who are eligible, we added people who are working in our food supply, so grocery workers, people who are working all along the food supply chain. And restaurant workers really fit in that category.

Frederica Freyberg:

When do you expect the state to reach herd immunity?

Karen Timberlake:

That is a good question. What I think is really important for everyone to understand is that we have three excellent vaccines that are safe, they are increasingly available. It’s really important for every person who is eligible today to seek out an opportunity to get a vaccine. As people become eligible down the road, we need everybody stepping up to protect themselves and protect all of us.

Frederica Freyberg:

So what’s the best way for people to sign up to get the vaccine?

Karen Timberlake:

There are a number of places that people can go to access vaccines. The first place to start is always going to be with your doctor’s office. In addition, it’s really a good idea to check with local pharmacies, including Walgreens and the Metro Market/Pick ‘n Save pharmacies that are getting vaccine directly from the federal government. And in addition we have a toll-free number people can call to find out more information about where they can get the vaccine and we have a map on our website of all the sites across the state where the vaccine is available.

Frederica Freyberg:

And in fact there are more and more of these mass vaccination sites being stood up in Wisconsin as well.

Karen Timberlake:

That’s correct. We have some community sites that are now open in Rock County. One that we just announced that’s going to open in Racine County in just another week or so, a site that just opened in La Crosse and there will be more to come.

Frederica Freyberg:

What are your concerns about the variants that are circulating now in Wisconsin?

Karen Timberlake:

We’re watching that very closely. Right now we have about 33 known cases of the — what’s known as the U.K. variant, the most common one people hear about. We still have one case of the South African variant. We know these variants are more contagious. They are more transmissible. They spread quickly. That is why between getting everyone vaccinated and continuing to wear masks, watch your distance, wash your hands, all of those strategies together will help us win the race against this virus.

Frederica Freyberg:

Very briefly with less than a minute left, how do you expect the federal COVID relief money to help Wisconsin’s public health effort in all of this?

Karen Timberlake:

The American Rescue Plan is going to be a game changer. It will help us continue our response to the coronavirus through testing and personal protective equipment and vaccination. But it’s also going to help us invest in some of the recovery that we need for people who have struggled to pay rent, for families that have struggled to find child care. There are tremendous investments coming our way.

Frederica Freyberg:

We leave it there. Karen Timberlake, thanks very much.

Karen Timberlake:

You’re welcome.