covid-19

Wisconsin’s business community is coming out in support of a Republican-authored coronavirus response bill moving quickly through the Legislature that is opposed by public health officials and Democrats.

The measure was heard Tuesday by the Assembly Health Committee but appears likely to be vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is calling on the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature to pass his proposed COVID-19 relief bill before any other in the session that begins Monday.

Evers renewed his request to lawmakers to take up his proposed compromise, first floated on Dec. 21.

He says it would be “inexplicable” to take up anything else first.

Authorities have arrested a suburban Milwaukee pharmacist suspected of deliberately ruining hundreds of doses of coronavirus vaccine by removing it from refrigeration for two nights.

The Grafton Police Department said the former Advocate Aurora Health pharmacist was arrested on suspicion of reckless endangerment, adulterating a prescription drug and criminal damage to property.

The department says he's in jail. Police did not identify the pharmacist, saying he hasn't been formally charged.

About 71,000 people have received the first of two rounds of coronavirus vaccinations in Michigan, where more than 480,000 virus cases have been confirmed.

Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have already been distributed to hospitals, local health departments and tribal health clinics.

The state says residents and staff at skilled nursing homes began receiving the Moderna vaccine on Monday.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed into law a $106 million plan to provide relief to businesses and fund efforts to fight the economic impact of the coronavirus.

Though the plan was a collaborative effort between the governor and the legislature, Whitmer told reporters on Tuesday that the legislature strayed from the original and the $465 million plan that was sent to her desk had been cut.

People in Wisconsin can now see how many doses of the COVID-19 vaccine the state has gotten and given.

The Department of Health Services launched a new COVID-19 Vaccine Data page Tuesday.

So far, Wisconsin has been allocated 265,575 doses, this includes Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Of those, 156,875 have shipped and 47,157 have been administered.

There’s also a break down of how many doses are administered each day.

Two pharmacy chains have launched an effort to inject tens of thousands of Wisconsin nursing home residents with a COVID-19 vaccine.

Rick Abrams, president of the Wisconsin Health Care Association/Wisconsin Center for Assisted Living, says CVS Health and Walgreens began injecting residents and staff on Monday with the Moderna vaccine.

A phone app meant to help with contact tracing in Wisconsin is now available to download.

It’s called WI exposure notification. We first told you about it last week on WXPR.

The app is meant to speed up the contact tracing process and let you know sooner if you’ve been potentially exposed to COVID-19.

WI Exposure Notification does not use, collect, or store any GPS data or personal details.

The financial cost of mitigating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on operations at Lakeland Union High School continues to climb, according to a school official. But some relief is in sight.

At the Dec. 14 school board meeting, director of business finance Greg Kopp reported that covid-related expenses dating back to July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year, are nearing the $140,000 mark.

Wisconsin got its first shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine Monday.

The state got the 16,000 doses of its first 100,000 that have been allocated.

More than 10,000 Wisconsinites have gotten their first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. These first doses are designated for frontline healthcare workers and people living in long-term care facilities.

DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk says knowing how many doses the state gets is a key part in knowing when we can make a dent in the pandemic.  

The Sokaogon Chippewa Health Clinic will start vaccinating its highest risk staff members Thursday.

SCC Health Clinic staff was at Austin Straubel Airport in Green Bay Tuesday to pick up the first COVID-19 vaccines for the Sokaogon Chippewa Community.

In a Facebook post, the Clinic says it will start with high-risk staff members and those in the community who are at highest risk.

These will be some of the first people in the Northwoods to get vaccinated.

This is a developing story. Stay with WXPR for updates.