Michigan Lags Way Behind Other States for Distributing COVID-19 Vaccine
Michigan is faring poorly when it comes to vaccinating residents against coronavirus. As of Monday (1/4), the Centers for Disease Control reports that Michigan ranks 44th in the nation for the number of residents who have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Michigan is just one of seven states where fewer than 1% of residents have received the vaccine. Only North Carolina, Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Kansas rank lower than Michigan, according to the CDC.
However, the process seems to slowed by the process of administering the vaccine. As of Monday, 378,925 doses of the vaccine have been distributed to our state while just over 99,000 people have received their first injection of the medication.
A representative from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services tells Bridge Magazine that holidays may have played a role in slowing the distribution of vaccine to Michigan residents.
“This is the most massive vaccination effort ever undertaken in the country, and every state is grappling with vaccine distribution going slower than needed to end this pandemic as quickly as possible,” Lynn Sutfin of MDHHS said. “Launching mass vaccinations over the December holiday season created delays with some individuals intentionally delaying vaccines for themselves until after the holidays and clinics not being operational due to the holidays.”
Sutfin says data on staff members at nursing homes and long-term care facilities across the state is not yet available, but Bridge reports that about 37% of healthcare workers in Wayne County and about one-third of healthcare professionals in Ingham County have declined to take the vaccine. Other regions report that 75 to 80% of healthcare workers have opted to take the vaccine.