Wisconsin’s slow vaccine rollout forcing Summerfest delay

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s slow coronavirus vaccination program is pushing back one of Milwaukee’s most anticipated events.

Summerfest CEO Don Smiley on Tuesday said the event will now begin in September, instead of June.

Smiley said not enough people in Milwaukee and the rest of the state have been fully vaccinated.

“The optimism is high given the vaccines that are out there, but we agreed that it would take longer to vaccinate the broader community than what our June 24 start date was going to allow,” Smiley said in a statement.

Smiley hopes the numbers will be better by September.

“From the health professionals that we’ve talked to in and out of Wisconsin, along with other government officials at the state and local level, we’re encouraged that anyone who wants a vaccine by the summer will be able to get one,” Smiley said.

Wisconsin is doing a better job of getting people in the state a coronavirus vaccine shot But only one shot.

The Centers for Disease Control’s latest numbers from Tuesday rank Wisconsin 29th in the nation in the number of people who’ve received a single vaccine dose. The state was 45th in that category last week.

But Wisconsin is ranked 44th in the nation when it comes to the number of people who’ve gotten both doses.

The CDC says a little more than 7% of people in Wisconsin have gotten at least one dose.

Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services says doctors and nurses have administered 578,000 doses so far. Approximately 108,000 people in the state have gotten both doses.

Summerfest was canceled last summer because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The new dates have concerts scheduled on Thursday, Friday,and Saturday during each of the first three weeks of September.

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