MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Alex Lasry, a 33-year-old Milwaukee Bucks executive and son of a billionaire, received the coronavirus vaccine this week at a senior living center in Milwaukee despite not being part of a group currently eligible for the shots in Wisconsin.
“This week I was vaccinated!” Lasry tweeted on Friday after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported it. “My wife got a call from her uncle that works in a facility that had extra doses that were going to go to waste if not used right away. With Lauren early in her pregnancy, we wanted to ensure our home, and entire community is safe for everyone.”
Lasry, a New York City native who is a hedge fund manager, is considering running for the U.S. Senate in Wisconsin in 2022. He was also host committee chair for the 2020 Democratic National Convention, which was awarded to Milwaukee but moved online due to the pandemic.
Lasry, the son of Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, tweeted that his vaccination was “pure happenstance, but I’m incredibly thankful.” Alex Lasry told the newspaper his wife’s uncle who called about the vaccine is rabbi at Ovation Chai Point Senior Living.
“It’s safe, healthy and how we’re all going to finally get out of this pandemic,” he tweeted. “As the rollout continues, if available, please don’t let any vaccines go to waste! Get vaccinated!”
Gov. Tony Evers said during a Friday update on Wisconsin’s vaccination efforts that state health officials are encouraging providers to use all the vaccine they have.
“They should just get it in somebody’s arm,” Evers said.
As for Lasry specifically, Evers said he’s not sure what happened. Evers, who is 69, is himself waiting for word on when he can get a shot, since they’re now open to everyone over age 65 in Wisconsin.
Lasry said he didn’t receive special treatment because of his position with the Bucks, his political aspirations or his father’s wealth.
“That has nothing to do with anything,” Lasry told the newspaper. “Honestly, if I wasn’t married to Lauren, I don’t know that I would have gotten a call or known about it.”
Evers said he would rather see providers administer vaccine outside the priority phases than let it go to waste, saying the number of doses administered outside the protocols is going to be a tiny percentage of all inoculations.
TOP PHOTO: FILE – In this Oct. 24, 2020 file photo, Milwaukee Bucks senior vice president Alex Lasry, left, and Bucks guard George Hill walk through a Milwaukee neighborhood during a voter canvassing effort. Lasry received the COVID-19 vaccine this week at a senior living center in Milwaukee. Alex Lasry told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a story published Friday, Jan. 29, 2021, that he “just got lucky” and didn’t receive any favoritism. (AP Photo/Steve Megargee File)