County may have to wait weeks for vaccine

National distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine began this week but Ozaukee County may have to wait a couple of weeks for its first doses, which will be given to frontline healthcare workers, the county’s top health official said Tuesday.

Washington Ozaukee Public Health Director Kirsten Johnson said the county’s general population will likely have to wait until at least spring for vaccination.

Johnson said her office has been approved by the state to be a vaccinator and will focus on providing the vaccine to health care workers not affiliated with major  health care providers.

That group, known as the 1a group, includes staff in independent medical and dental offices, nursing facilities and similar locations.

It also includes emergency medical technicians and paramedics at local fire departments, which will be the first in the county to get the vaccine.

Johnson said she’s doesn’t know yet how much vaccine her office will receive or when, meaning the vaccine will be doled out as it arrives to those groups.

“As we receive it we will reach out to the different groups. We’re currently going through a process where we identify those groups,” she said.

A second-tier group, known as 1b, to receive the vaccine consists of what officials are calling “critical infrastructure workers.” These include teachers, child care workers and food suppliers. It also includes at-risk individuals with underlying health conditions.

The third and final group will be the general population.

The vaccines have not been approved for children younger than 16.

About 50,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine were to be delivered to eight regional hubs in Wisconsin this week, the state announced Monday.

More than 100,000 doses of a vaccine developed by Moderna are expected to arrive next week.

Johnson said Ozaukee County residents will likely receive the Moderna vaccine, which can survive outside ultra-cold storage freezers, unlike the Pfizer vaccine. 

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are 95% effective, officials say.

The FDA’s emergency approval process acknowledges that there are unanswered questions about the vaccines’ efficacy and safety for pregnant women and young children. 

State officials announced on Monday that the federal distribution program for the Moderna vaccine was set to begin through Walgreens and CVS pharmacies, pending the vaccine’s approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

That effort will begin with skilled nursing facilities on Dec. 28, state officials said.

“By spring there will be multiple lanes for people to have access to being vaccinated,” Johnson said. “I would be surprised if it was available much before then, but I’ve been surprised before,” noting that many forecasters didn’t expect a vaccine to be available so soon.

“There is a light at the end of the tunnel,” she said, encouraging people to continue wearing masks and maintain social distancing and other behaviors to reduce the virus’ spread.

Meanwhile, testing for Covid-19 ramped up this week with the opening Tuesday of a new test facility at the Ozaukee County Fairgrounds in Cedarburg.

Johnson said about 200 people were tested at the site Tuesday.

Registrations are required for the test, which is administered by a private company, California-based Curative Inc.

Testing by the Wisconsin National Guard will continue on Saturdays at the Ozaukee County Transit Center in Port Washington until March 6. It will be closed on Dec. 26.

Registering for the test can be done on the health department website at www.washozwi.gov or by calling 284-8170.

  On Tuesday, the health department website said there were 807 active cases in Ozaukee County, down from 846 last week and a high of 1,300 on Nov. 20.