MADISON, Wisconsin – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has announced that Madison will be home to a federal-backed mass vaccination site starting Wednesday.
FEMA will provide federal staff and support services for the mass vaccination site at the Alliant Energy Center, with the state of Wisconsin committed to delivering up to 7,000 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to the site each week.
“This is one of the biggest vaccination efforts our state has made, and teamwork is needed at every level to ensure that we get vaccinated against everyone as quickly, fairly and safely as possible,” Evers said in a statement. “I am grateful for the support of FEMA to our state and to coordinate with our local partners to help our most vulnerable people get the protection they need so that we can all continue from this pandemic.”
According to the governor’s office, the mass vaccination site can vaccinate 1,400 people a day.
The Alliant Energy Center will receive 26 additional staff from the federal government to increase the number of doses given at the site. This means that the operation will be able to increase from eight lanes to eleven.
Dane County CEO Joe Parisi has been in talks with the federal government for months to get this help.
‘This is a reflection of our facility at the Alliant Energy Center. You know we’ve shown that we can get thousands of people there to test. We have shown that we can get a lot of vaccines to get people in and out of there. And we showed them that we have the ability, the ability to expand even more, ”Parisi said.
Public Health Madison and Dane County said the extra hands and doses will be very helpful.
DHS will also increase the allocation of public health vaccines from Madison and Dane County from 5,600 doses per week to 7,700.
“We hope it’s Johnson & Johnson and one shot, but if that’s not the case, we’ll take any vaccine available to us,” Doug Voegeli told Madison and Dane County.
It could also help more Madison residents get appointments closer to home.
‘The demand here in Dane County is, in my opinion, a little higher than in other areas. So at the moment, it might be a little harder in Dane County to get an invitation. However, I would think that in the next few weeks you will see that it relaxes a bit, ‘said Voegeli.
“Cooperation has been a key role in our response to the pandemic, and I am pleased to welcome FEMA in Madison,” said Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway. “I’m grateful for the partnership between the city, public health, Dane County, the state and the federal government that will speed up the process of getting people vaccinated here in Madison.”
Vaccinations must still be done in advance for the mass vaccination site by registering via the Wisconsin Vaccination Register at vaccinate.wi.gov or by calling 1-844-684-1064.
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