Michigan Family Physicians

WHAT: Michigan Academy of Family Physicians media roundtable urging the state to allocate COVID-19 vaccines to family physicians for immunizing patients, which would more effectively fight the ongoing pandemic.

WHO:

- Karlene Ketola, MSA, CAE, Chief Executive Officer, Michigan Academy of Family Physicians

- Mark Hamed, MD, MBA, MPH, FAAFP, President, Michigan Academy of Family Physicians, Medical Director of the Departments of Emergency Medicine and Hospital Medicine, McKenzie Health System

- Pamela Rockwell, DO, FAAFP, Medical Director of Family Medicine at Domino’s Farms and Associate Professor of Family Medicine at University of Michigan Medical School

WHEN: Monday, March 22 at 10:30 a.m.

WHERE: News conference will be held via Zoom, RSVP to Laura at laura@reschstrategies.com for login details.

WHY: March 21-27, 2021 was proclaimed as Family Medicine Week in Michigan by Governor Whitmer. Michigan’s family physicians play an important role in combatting COVID-19, as well as other communicable diseases, and want to do more by administering the COVID-19 vaccine.

Allocating COVID-19 vaccines to primary care physicians would alleviate the burden on local public health departments and healthcare systems. As Michiganders are already used to visiting their primary care doctor for preventive and comprehensive primary care services, receiving the COVID-19 vaccine from their family physician would improve the continuity of care and speed up vaccine distribution across the state. Michigan’s primary care physicians are providing care to millions of patients for both COVID and non-COVID illnesses, alleviating non-emergent emergency room visits and improving hospital capacity issues.

As all Michigan residents age 16+ will soon be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, now is the time to expand vaccine administration to family physicians.