Supply limitations slow Milwaukee's COVID-19 vaccine distribution

MILWAUKEE - The City of Milwaukee received 2,200 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the state this week -- about 44% of their weekly request, health officials said. 

Limited supply, something health officials have been up against since the process began, is slowing the work to vaccinate more people.

At the Wisconsin Center, nearly 300 vaccination appointments had to be canceled Tuesday, Jan. 26 due to weather. With staff and recipients worried about getting there safely, all appointments will be rescheduled for later in the week.

As health care providers across Wisconsin have begun vaccinating people ages 65 and up, Milwaukee Interim Health Commissioner Marlaina Jackson said the city's COVID-19 data are encouraging.

"Our current percent positive for the City of Milwaukee is 7.7%, and the last time our numbers were around seven was late summer," said Jackson.

Because of that, Jackson expects to make minor changes to the Moving Milwaukee Forward order over the next few weeks. Health and elected officials are also paying close attention to a list of other matters, including vaccine availability.

"We want to make sure these doses are getting in folks' arms, but the doses aren't available as we thought they were," Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android.

On top of that, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett voiced his concern about racial disparity within the vaccine rollout plan. Milwaukee County's latest data show 60% of all people vaccinated are white.

"Every level of government and all of the health care partners have to make sure that systemic disparities do not leave people of color unvaccinated," said Barrett.

Health officials are still worried about three variant strains of COVID-19, which appear to be more transmissible. Dr. Ben Weston with the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management said the vaccine should still prove effective, in varying degrees, toward all three variants -- but precautions are still important.

"We should still mask. We should still distance. We should still avoid gatherings, and certainly, we should still receive the vaccine when it's offered to us," Weston said.

Starting Monday, Feb. 1, the Milwaukee Health Department will block out every Monday for 65-and-older vaccinations. Officials are urging seniors to sign up online at healthyMKE.com.