'Couple thousand' daily vaccine appointments open at Wisconsin Center
MILWAUKEE - Gone are the days of long lines and wait-times for a coronavirus vaccine at the Wisconsin Center. The Milwaukee Health Department has thousands of appointments available this week, officials said Sunday, April 11 as the balance between supply and demand has shifted.
When the vaccination site opened three months ago, the city received 800 doses for the entire week. That's now just a fraction of the number of doses they can give per day, so long as people show up to receive them.
Even as Wisconsin's coronavirus case totals are rising again, gaining a thousand-plus new cases on back-to-back days for the first time since February, health officials are still struggling to get people vaccinated.
"We'd love to see about 4,000 people through here a day, and right now, we have a couple thousand available every single day for the next week," said Celia Shaughnessy, site coordinator for the Milwaukee Health Department.
Shaughnessy said it's never been easier for someone to get their shot at the downtown vaccination site.
"We do not require any ID, so you can come in -- we'll register you," she said. "We're really asking about medical history. That is our concern, to make sure that we safely vaccinate you, and you have the right observation time of 15-30 minutes."
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As vaccine eligibility has expanded, so has the center's dose capacity with the arrival of FEMA last week, but the number of doses administered lags.
"I do think a lot of that has to do with the availability of vaccine everywhere," said Shaughnessy. "It's also getting nice out, so people are wanting the pandemic to be over and thinking everything's fine."
Shaughnessy said the recruiting efforts continue, especially for the newly eligible age groups.
"I'd really love to see our 16-and-plus come in, including, you know, those in their early 20s and on the college campuses, particularly as we go back to school next fall," said Shaughnessy.
So if you're 16 and up and want to get your shot at the Wisconsin Center, you have two options. First, the Wisconsin Center is accepting walk-ins or you can register for one of those thousands of available appointments online.
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