Local leaders unveil COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. (CBS 58) – Now that the COVID-19 vaccine is in Wisconsin, what’s the plan to roll it out at the local level? According to the Pfizer’s website, their facility in Pleasant Prairie will serve as a distribution center.

From the outside it looks quiet, but local officials tell us there’s plenty of work going on inside to make sure this rollout is a smooth as possible.

“I think the most accurate word to describe what’s going on is fluid,” says Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

During the monthly Greater Milwaukee Committee meeting, officials provided insight on the development and distribution of the anticipated COVID-19 vaccine.

The numbers aren’t set in stone, but officials are working off the possibility of receiving 50,000 doses from Pfizer and 16,000 from Maderna.

While the general public isn’t scheduled to receive the vaccine until later down the road, Mayor Barrett expressed one of his biggest equity concerns.

“I have raised quite pointedly the need to include our federally qualified health centers because they are the ones on the ground in the City of Milwaukee that have so much interaction particularly in the neighborhoods where we have seen a lot of the problems,” says Barrett.

Dr. Tizo Izard, President and CEO of Milwaukee Health Services, INC. was also part of the meeting vouching for equity in vaccine distribution once available.

“My federally qualified health center, on the north side of Milwaukee, servs about 85% African Americans, with 97% of our patients living under the federal poverty level,” says Dr. Izard.

Officials say these are topics actively being discussed.

Meanwhile, village officials tell us many of the U.S. shipping plans for Pfizer in the U.S. include their Pleasant Prairie location. They went on to say that they don’t have any scheduling or timing information on the vaccine, but have worked with the company to make proper adjustments like permits and inspections to have the facility ready to go with ultra-cold storage.

Representatives for Pfizer told us they were not available for comment.