Michigan Moves To New Phase In COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Plan

MICHIGAN — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state health officials on Wednesday announced that Michigan is moving to a new phase of its vaccination rollout plan, meaning Michiganders 65 and older and some frontline essential workers will be able to receive COVID-19 vaccinations beginning Monday.

Frontline essential workers — including police officers, first responders, frontline state and federal workers and jail and prison staff as well as PreK-12 teachers and child care providers — are among the front-line workers able to receive COVID-19 vaccines beginning Monday, according to the state.

"This change is good news for our families or frontline workers and small businesses," Whitmer said during a news conference Wednesday. "We want to make sure that when it becomes available to you, you are ready and we ask that you're patient.

"We have our work cut out for us to educate the public and work with them to make sure that every one of us has a plan to get ourselves and our families vaccinated," Whitmer continued. "We've never experienced anything of this magnitude."

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To date, 80 percent of COVID-19 deaths have occurred among those age 65 and older, according to the state. In addition to vaccinating Michiganders who are 75 and older in Phase 1B of Michigan's COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan, the state is accelerating to vaccinate individuals 65 years old and older.

The state added 2,291 new COVID-19 cases and 189 new COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state to 504,410 and growing the coronavirus death toll to 12,867, state health officials said.

As of Thursday, 363,611 people in Michigan have recovered from the coronavirus, according to state health officials.

Officials said the state is accelerating the implementation of vaccination of individuals 65-74 years due to concern around disparity in life expectancy by race/ethnicity for this group.

Read More: Michigan Has Administered 6th Fewest COVID-19 Vaccine Doses: CDC

“We are pleased to move the state forward in the next stage of vaccinations,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health. “These vaccines are safe and effective, and we especially want our first responders, teachers and older adults to get vaccinated as soon as possible. The strategy we are announcing today is efficient, effective, and equitable, focusing on making vaccine available to those who have the highest level of risk, whether it is because of where they work or because of their age.”

All counties may begin vaccinating residents over age 65. Eligible essential workers, teachers and childcare workers will be notified by their employers about vaccine clinic dates and locations, the state said. Eligible individuals should not go to any of the clinics without an appointment.

Michigan in December announced its plan for how it would distribute the two COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna. Health officials in Michigan said the state is following the CDC recommendations for prioritization of distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines.

Read More: 300 Michigan National Guardsmen Receive COVID-19 Vaccine

Michigan health officials have set a goal of vaccinating 70 percent of Michiganders 18 years of age or older, about 5.4 million adults, by the end of 2021.

The plan involves a multi-phase approach that includes administering the vaccine to unpaid people serving in health care settings who have direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials and are unable to work from home, as well as residents of long-term care facilities.