Oakland County Hopes To Expand Network Of Vaccination Partners

ROCHESTER, MI — While Oakland County officials have been successful in administering nearly 100 percent of available coronavirus vaccines it has available, they announced plans to expand its network of community provider partners on Thursday that they expect will help to improve the ongoing effort.

Health officials have already partnered with a network of coronavirus vaccine providers that have helped administer shots of the vaccines to local residents. To date, of the 41,350 doses of the vaccines that have been received in Oakland County since Dec. 17, a total of 41,323 doses have been delivered, officials said in a news conference.

The current network of donors includes Honor Community Health, Henry Ford Bloomfield Hospital and Meijer, all of which are working with the county to help administer the vaccines. But Oakland County Executive David Coulter said Thursday that officials are working to add to the number of providers the county works with as vaccinations continue.

The requirements for the network are that the provider partner would agree to administer at least 90 percent of the vaccine the county distributes to them within a week. In recent weeks, Oakland County has distributed 1,950 doses to Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, 975 doses to Meijer, and 300 doses to Honor Community Health, officials said Thursday.

While Coulter said he is pleased with the rate that the county has gotten shots into arms, he said he looks forward to a time when the number of vaccinations can increase. He said that he hopes a visit of President Joe Biden to Pfizer in Portage on Friday signals that a significant increase of doses being delivered to the state is on the way.

Biden was scheduled to make his first trip to Michigan since taking office on Thursday, but the trip was delayed by inclement weather.

Other officials said that an increase of community partners will help.

“Once adequate supply is available and we receive more than 20,000 doses a week, it will take this public-private partnership to ensure we can vaccinate residents quickly,” Oakland County Health Officer Leigh-Anne Stafford said Thursday. “We are establishing the provider relationships and infrastructure now, so we are ready when that moment comes.”

County officials announced that more than 500,000 Oakland County residents have signed up in expressing their interest to be vaccinated. County health officials said that they are partnering with area long-term care facilities to get residents and staff members vaccinated and have currently done so at 20 facilities in using the limited amount of vaccines they have available.