Michigan speeding up vaccinations

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 6, 2021

CONTACT: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112, SutfinL1@michigan.gov

Michigan speeding up vaccinations; ranks 11^th in the nation for the
number of first doses of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine administered

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan hospitals, local health departments and Federally Qualified Health Centers are quickly increasing the pace of vaccinations in the state, administering three times the vaccine last week compared to the number of doses administered the first week.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracker data, Michigan is 11^th in the nation for the number of first doses administered to date (124,689) behind Texas, California, Florida, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, New Jersey and North Carolina. Michigan’s COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard currently shows 152,511 doses administered due to a lag between when CDC posts data and the state updates its information. 

“The more people that are vaccinated, the less spread we will have, the fewer deaths and the quicker we can get back to a sense of normalcy,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. “With a new variant of the virus in the United States, one that may be easier to spread than the current variant, there is more urgency than ever to vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, with the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine.”

In an effort to increase the pace and make vaccine available to those who have the highest level of risk, because of where they work or their age, Michigan today announced it would begin offering vaccine to Michiganders age 65 and older; frontline essential workers including police officers, first responders, frontline state and federal workers and jail and prison staff; and preK-12 teachers and childcare providers.

Additional data information based on CDC tracker data:

• Michigan is ranked 10^th in the nation for number of doses distributed (480,750) (behind California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia).
• Michigan is ranked 29^th in doses distributed per 100,000 population (4,814) (Tennessee, New York, Missouri, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Texas are just below Michigan).
• Michigan ranks 40^th in the number of first doses administered per 100,000 population (1,249) with California, Nevada, Louisiana, Idaho, South Carolina, Kansas, Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi ranking lower. Using Michigan’s dashboard number this would increase to 1,525 per 100,000.

“Although we have made progress, there is still a lot of work to do,” Khaldun said. “We have to all continue to do our part to end this pandemic.  Wear your mask, wash your hands, continue social distancing and when it is your turn, sign up for an appointment to get the vaccine.”

Information around the COVID-19 outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.