State Regulators Overseeing Doctors, Nurses, Chiropractors Encourage COVID-19 Vaccination

Anyone living in Wisconsin age 16 and older becomes eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine Monday. State regulatory boards for doctors and nurses are urging their colleagues and the public to get a shot.

However, the body overseeing chiropractors has hedged, encouraging those in the profession to get vaccinated but not telling the public — some of whom are their patients — what to do.

The resolutions on the COVID-19 vaccine passed by the Medical Examining Board, the Board of Nursing and Chiropractic Examining Board come as coronavirus cases rise in Wisconsin and some surrounding states.

“We want to make sure the message is clear-cut that we support these vaccines, that we ourselves are getting these vaccines,” Dr. Sheldon Wasserman, chair of the Medical Examining Board, told WPR.

So far, 31 percent of people in Wisconsin have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine.

That includes health care workers in Wisconsin. While most have chosen to be vaccinated against COVID-19, some have declined.

The state doesn’t track who has been vaccinated by profession, but hospitals and other health care employers say between 60 and 90 percent of their staff are getting immunized, said Wisconsin Department of Health Services Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk during a recent Milwaukee Press Club event.

A GOP proposal would prevent employers from requiring workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Separate legislation sent to Gov. Tony Evers would prevent government officials from mandating the vaccine.

Current law allows state health officials to require vaccinations during a public health emergency, but people can opt out for religious or conscience reasons. It also can’t be required under certain medical circumstances.

Vaccinations are not currently mandated by any state or local health agencies in Wisconsin.