Wisconsin is gearing up to enter the next phase of its vaccination plan.
Phase 1B is slated to start Monday (March 1), Julie Willems Van Dijk of the Wisconsin Department Health Services confirmed on Tuesday (February 23).
She also noted that almost half of the eligible Wisconsin residents — who are at least 65 years old — have received their first vaccine dose, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
That means the next group of Wisconsin residents can get the COVID-19 vaccine starting Monday. The prioritized order starts with teachers and child care workers, followed by those in long-term care programs, essential workers, non-frontline health care personnel and others.
Groups included in the next phase after 1B have not been set in stone, the Journal Sentinel noted.
"This is a group that is essential," Willems Van Dijk said of teachers during a press conference Tuesday. “We know teachers work every day with a population that is not able to be vaccinated because of their age…We will all get our turn.”
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported more than 561,000 confirmed cases as of Wednesday (February 24). More than 3.1 million have been tested, and more than 8,400 cases remain active, state data show.
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