LANSING, Michigan (WILX) – Friday, Michigan announced that all residents aged 16 and over will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine on April 5, almost a month before the May 1 date. Prometheus by President Joe Biden.
People aged 16 to 49 with certain medical conditions or disabilities will be eligible from March 22, when people aged 50 to 64 can start receiving vaccines with an earlier announcement. Two days later, on March 24, a regional mass vaccination site selected by the federal government will open at Ford Field in Detroit to administer 6,000 additional doses per day for two months.
With increased vaccine eligibility, providers are encouraged to continue scheduling appointments and allocating vaccines to residents based on the highest risk, including older residents, essential employees and frontline employees. The latest vaccine prioritization guidelines can be found on Michigan’s COVID-19 website.
“The safe COVID-19 vaccine is the most effective way to protect you, your family and others from the virus,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer in a statement. “It will help the country to return to normal and help the economy. Almost one million michiganders of all races have been safely vaccinated. I urge all Michiganders eligible to have one of the three COVID-19 vaccines. It is essential that our country returns to normal so that we can all hug our families, go back to work, go to restaurants, send our children to school, play sports and get together again. And as always: disguise, practice safe social detachment and avoid large internal meetings where COVID-19 can easily spread from person to person. We will eliminate this virus together. “
The United States hopes to have enough doses for adults by the end of May, but Biden has warned that the process of administering those doses will take time. As of Wednesday, about 22% of Michigan’s 16-year-old population had been wholly or partially vaccinated.
“More than 2.7 million doses of safe and effective COVID vaccines have been administered in Michigan, and we are well on our way to vaccinating 70% of Michiganders aged 16 and over,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, medical director and vice president health at the MDHHS. “We are pleased to outline our plan for when all Michigander aged 16 and over will be able to receive a vaccine. We will continue to focus our efforts on removing barriers to access for our most vulnerable individuals to exposure and those most at risk of serious illness due to COVID-19. These vaccines are the way we are going to end this pandemic and I urge Michiganders to make a plan to get his vaccine when you are eligible. “
Even with the increase in COVID-19 vaccinations, Khaldun urges everyone to continue to practice preventive measures, such as the proper use of masks, social distance and frequent hand washing to reduce the spread of the virus until the vast majority of people have been vaccinated .
Important dates to remember:
March 8th: Vaccination is open to Michiganders aged 50 and over with medical problems or disabilities and family caregivers and guardians who care for children with special health care needs
March 22: Vaccine eligibility is expanding to include all Michiganders aged 50 and over.
“This important step will allow individuals most vulnerable to COVID-19, including people with disabilities, to receive the vaccine,” said Annie Urasky, director of the Division of the Deaf, Deaf and Hearing Impaired at the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. “We thank the Governor and MDHHS for this life-saving expansion of eligibility and we will work with them to communicate the news to Michiganders with disabilities.”
“The governor’s action to expand eligibility has the potential to protect more than one million Michiganders with disabilities. We couldn’t be more grateful, ”said Dessa Cosma, Executive Director of Detroit Disability Power. “This would not have been possible without the actions of dozens of disability rights organizations across the state and we are ready as a resource for accessible implementation and delivery.”
The state health department said it could take “several weeks” beyond April 5 for anyone who wants the vaccine to get an appointment.
Medical conditions that put individuals at increased risk for serious disease of the virus that causes COVID-19 are eligible for vaccination and include:
- Cancer;
- chronic kidney disease;
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease);
- Down’s syndrome;
- cardiac conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies;
- immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) due to solid organ transplantation;
- obesity (body mass index [BMI] 30 kg / m2 or greater, but <40 kg / m2);
- severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg / m2);
- pregnancy;
- sickle cell anemia;
- smoke;
- and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
The following medical conditions can put an individual at an increased risk of serious illness from the virus that causes COVID-19 and therefore are also eligible for vaccination:
- asthma (moderate to severe);
- cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain);
- cystic fibrosis;
- hypertension or high blood pressure;
- immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) due to blood or bone marrow transplantation;
- immunological deficiencies;
- HIV;
- use of corticosteroids or use of other medications to weaken the immune system;
- neurological conditions, such as dementia;
- liver disease;
- overweight (BMI> 25 kg / m2, but <30 kg / m2);
- pulmonary fibrosis (with damaged or scarred lung tissue); thalassemia (a type of blood disorder);
- and type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Those eligible to receive a vaccine must:
- Consult the website of your local health department or hospital for your process or registration forms; or
- Check other vaccination locations, such as local pharmacies like Meijer, Rite Aid or Walgreens;
- Residents who do not have access to the internet or who need help navigating the vaccine scheduling process can call Hotline COVID-19 by calling 888-535-6136 (press 1), Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, Saturdays and Sundays, 8am to 1pm or you can call 2-1-1.
Michigan residents looking for more information about the COVID-19 vaccine can visit Michigan.gov/COVIDvaccine. Information about this outbreak is changing rapidly. The most recent information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.
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