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MADISON, Wisconsin – All Wisconsinites aged 65 and over became eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine on Monday. This represents approximately 700,000 people.
But the state only receives about 70,000 doses of the vaccine per week. Health officials estimate that it will take several weeks to reach all people 65 and over who want to be vaccinated, as many people in group 1A have yet to be vaccinated.
Because of this big difference between supply and demand, hospital systems prioritize this group in different ways.
UnityPoint Health-Meriter primarily programs people 65 years of age and older with co-morbidities, including those with heart disease and lung problems like COPD.
“We just randomly select people with co-morbidities and contact them,” said David Childers, vice president of clinical operations for UnityPoint Health-Meriter.
Childers said there were approximately 6,300 UnityPoint Health-Meriter patients in the over 65 category.
“We try to match the number of people we go to with our ability to make the vaccines, and also to make sure we have an adequate supply of vaccines. So it’s a weekly process, ”Childers said.
SSM Health takes a different approach by prioritizing people aged 75 and over. Then they will move on to contacting people aged 65 to 74.
“Our system has over 118,000 patients aged 65 and over, so we knew it would not be possible for us to vaccinate every 65 and over in the first week,” said Mo Kharbat, vice-president. president of pharmacy services at SSM Health.
Kharbat said the health system has an increased capacity to deliver 20,000 doses per week, but it is not receiving enough vaccines to do so. They do about 1,000 hits a day.
Kharbat said all SSM Health workers eligible for Group 1A who wanted a vaccine got one, but there are still around 3,000 community health workers still waiting. They will have priority before people 65 and over.
Public Health Madison and Dane County also has 3,000 people in 1A to be vaccinated.
“We are just not getting enough vaccines to keep track of the number of people eligible to be vaccinated,” said Doug Voegelli, PHMDC chief operating officer.
People without insurance will have to go through the PHMDC to get vaccinated. To be registered on the list, you must complete a survey.
But Voegelli said it could be a few weeks before anyone who completes this survey receives a vaccine, as the PHMDC only receives about 1,000 first doses per week.
When that moment comes, the PHMDC may prioritize communities that have been most affected by COVID-19.
“It could mean that we are looking at race, ethnicity and also social vulnerability. So these are some of the things we can use to help prioritize within the 65+ community to make sure we are reaching higher risk populations, ”said Vorgelli.
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