The initial rate of inoculation of COVID-19 vaccines in the Michigan population – already lower than in most other states – is underestimating how many doses of the vaccine are on the shelves of hospitals, pharmacies and government health departments.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services acknowledged on Tuesday that the 520,150 doses of distributed vaccines published on its website do not include about 160,000 doses that the CDC sent to CVS and Walgreens to vaccinate elderly residents in Michigan nursing homes.
Tuesday’s vaccination report showed 140,245 doses of the COVID vaccine administered, less than 27 percent of vaccines sent to Michigan by the federal government since mass inoculations began three weeks ago.
But when asylum doses are added to the total, the percentage of individuals who received the injection drops to 20.6% compared to the amount of vaccine available. In the state report on Tuesday, the surplus for the vaccine increased to 539,875, about 140,000 more doses than a day ago.
The state health agency acknowledged the under count in vaccines distributed on Tuesday after Crain’s asked about Monday’s MDHHS report showing 7,090 doses being administered in nursing homes, but no corresponding data showing the doses of vaccine being distributed to nursing homes, CVS or Walgreens. The chain’s two pharmacies are vaccinating residents and employees at long-term care facilities in partnership with the federal government.
Michigan’s struggle to rapidly distribute and administer Pfizer and Moderna vaccines comes as the CDC reports that the state’s vaccination rate on a per capita basis is the lowest seventh in the country, ahead of just Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi and North Carolina.
MDHHS spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin said the state agency plans to add doses of vaccines distributed to nursing homes to its daily vaccine data panel “in the future and they will be divided into their own category”.
CVS and Walgreens are taking care of scheduling, distributing and administering the injection to residents and nursing home staff. The rival national networks started giving nursing home residents and employees the Moderna vaccine on December 28.
Melissa Samuel, president of the Health Care Association of Michigan, released the 160,000 number in an interview on Tuesday with Crain’s.
“We were told that there were about 160,000 or more doses sent to CVS and Walgreens,” said Samuel. “The goal of the state, CVS and Walgreens is to complete the first round of doses in three weeks. The first week was somewhat slowed down by the week of the holiday. We are going to increase rapidly.”
Vaccinations in nursing homes will need to accelerate quickly so that all 160,000 doses are administered in three weeks. CVS and Walgreens are currently administering about 1,000 doses a day in Michigan nursing homes.
Tuesday’s state vaccination report showed that the number of vaccines administered in nursing homes and other long-term facilities increased from 911 to 8,006.
This is equivalent to 5 percent of the vaccine designated for nursing homes, having been used until Monday. Nursing homes were prioritized for the vaccine because they were associated with 38.6% of the 12,867 deaths from COVID-19 in Michigan and 7.6% of half a million infections.
HCAM, which represents about 440 nursing homes and assisted living facilities, has obtained state and federal approval to have only the Modern COVID-19 vaccines allocated to its members’ facilities. The Pfizer vaccine requires deep-frozen freezers, equipment that hospitals and the county health department stockpile before FDA approval last month of the two COVID vaccines.
“It was a very good decision by the state,” said Samuel. “We need the most vulnerable population vaccinated”.
CVS and Walgreens are scheduling all nursing homes in the state for internal vaccination clinics, said Samuel.
“I didn’t hear any problems with scheduling or dosing.” Said Samuel. “Other states have had problems, but don’t know of any here.”
CVS and Walgreens representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Samuel had no percentage of residents or employees being vaccinated.
“My feeling now is that the percentage of residents who receive doses is very high. I’m not surprised based on who they are and where they are. They want guarantees to connect with the family, ”she said. “Employees, some are reluctant to receive vaccines. It is a wait-and-see approach. Therefore, these percentages are lower than those of residents.”
Samuel said the big challenge now is to increase the education of residents and staff to understand that vaccines are safe and effective.
“I feel comfortable because the process is working and the clinics have been scheduled and we are going to increase these percentages,” she said.