State will follow federal guidance on who gets the vaccine and when, starting with frontline healthcare workers and other essential services.

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers delivered the Democratic Radio Address on Thursday encouraging Wisconsinites to continue to taking precautions to protect their health and safety as the state works to distribute and administer the COVID-19 vaccine over the coming weeks and months.

Audio file of radio address.

Hello, Wisconsin. Governor Tony Evers here.

Hope is on the horizon in the new year, as this week we began distributing and administering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine across the state.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has been working hard with our federal, state, and local partners to prepare for this and now they are putting their plan into action with regional hubs to ensure the safe, efficient distribution of vaccine.

While we will continue to follow federal guidance on who gets the vaccine and when, starting with our frontline healthcare workers and other essential services, the important thing to remember is that we are not out of the woods just yet.

So please, don’t give up on the public health guidance that we know will keep our families and communities safe and healthy.

Please continue to stay safer at home, wear a mask whenever you are out in public, and practice physical distancing.

Let’s stay hopeful, let’s stay safe, and let’s get through these upcoming months together, Wisconsin.

Thank you.

Vel Phillips is a shining example of Black Excellence in Wisconsin.

MADISON- Today, Governor Evers announced the community advisory committee that will propose a monument in honor of the late Vel Phillips to the State Capitol and Executive Residence Board (SCERB). Representative Stubbs (D-Madison) is a part of this committee, and her statement is below:

“Vel Phillips is a shining example of Black Excellence in Wisconsin. As the first Black woman to be elected to the Milwaukee Common Council, and the first to become Secretary of State, she became the role model for many other Black women to enter public service, including myself. Her legacy of civil rights action paved the way for a generation, and her service deserves to be recognized”

“I want to thank Governor Evers for supporting this advisory committee, and for recognizing the moment we are in today. I also want to thank President and CEO of Boys & Girls Club of Dane County Michael Johnson for bringing this idea to legislators and Governor Evers. Our state capitol needs to be an accurate reflection of our state, and the people that call Wisconsin home. For too long, Black faces have been excluded from recognition, and it is time that status quo is changed”

“I look forward to working with my fellow committee members to bring this proposal forward, and to bring diversity onto our capitol grounds. Most of all, I am excited to honor the memory of Vel Phillips by bringing her story to the forefront. I hope this monument will inspire the next generation of leaders, and show that there is no limit to what they can achieve.”

The committee is made up of the members below:

• Dave Endres, Corporate Legal Counsel for American Family Insurance (Chair)
• Michael Phillips, son of Vel Phillips
• Michael Johnson, President and CEO Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County
• Jessica Cavazos, President and CEO, Latino Chamber of Commerce
• Anthony Cooper, CEO of Focused Interruption Coalition
• Shelia Stubbs, State Representative, 77th Assembly District
• Angela Arrington, Senior Attorney for Alliant Energy, Delta Sigma Theta
• Jake Brown, Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County
• Lucy Mathiak, Former MMSD Board member, Historian