Public Health Madison & Dane County

The blog below was published on May 6, 2021. 

As of May 13, 2021, we are now able to vaccinate people 12 years old and older, provided we have Pfizer vaccine doses available. Book an appointment now on our website.

News sources across the country are reporting that the Pfizer vaccine could be authorized for children 12 to 15 years old very soon. This is exciting news, as it would mean an additional 25,000 to 30,000 people in our county will be eligible for vaccination—and will help us get closer to herd immunity!While this authorization for 12-15 year olds hasn’t happened yet, there are a few things to know ahead of any possible announcement.

We can’t vaccinate 12-15 year olds until we receive clearance from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

Should the FDA authorize the Pfizer vaccine for 12-15 year olds, we won’t be able to immediately start vaccinating them. As part of our vaccination agreement, we must wait until the Wisconsin Department of Health Services says it’s okay to begin using our Pfizer vaccine for this population.

Vaccination at Alliant Energy Center

Should the announcement from the FDA come next week (the week of May 10), Alliant Energy Center is going to be very busy. We are one of several dozens of vaccinators in Dane County, so don’t forget you have options! You can find other vaccinators and filter by vaccine type on vaccinefinder.org too.

We’re upping our capacity, but we’re already scheduled to give several thousand second doses.

We’re already planning to give more than 6,600 second doses the week of May 10. If this announcement comes through, we’ll have a lot of folks excited to get first doses as well. Our current capacity is just over  7,000 vaccinations per week. We’ve requested about 1,700 first doses and have upped our staffing so we can cover 10 lanes of vaccination instead of our usual eight lanes. 

You can help by making an appointment.

We are strongly encouraging people to make an appointment if they want to be vaccinated. You can’t make an appointment for a 12-15 year old until the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ announcement comes through, but as soon as that happens, we recommend booking an appointment. You will still have the ability to drop-in, but there could be a very long wait and there are no guarantees we’ll still have enough vaccine available. If you have an appointment, we set aside a vaccine specifically for you. 

People who are younger than 18 years old either need a guardian with them to provide consent or will need to have a guardian ready to answer their phone and provide verbal consent.

Other Vaccination Options

Keep in mind we are just one of many vaccinators in the county! Check with your child’s doctor, local pharmacies, and pop-up clinics near you for additional options.

As always, we will keep you updated with the latest vaccination news. Follow us on social media (@publichealthmdc on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram), subscribe to our blog, and check our vaccination page for the latest info!