(WXYZ) — "Here’s my vaccination card,” said Farmington resident Jeff Taylor as he showed his card, which reflected 2 doses of Pfizer.
"It was a nice feeling that we had it done,” said Brian Giles of Canton, who got vaccinated along with his wife Betsy.
Taylor has been fully vaccinated since April 10. Brian Giles has been vaccinated since April 7.
However, according to Michigan's COVID 19 vaccine database, neither of them has had a single shot.
Back in March, vaccines were limited. Many Michiganders like Taylor and the Giles struggled to find appointments in the state, so instead, they found them elsewhere.
“We tried, we looked and searched and then we heard of people going to Ohio,” Taylor said. “It was about an hour and 40-minute drive so really not too bad.”
Taylor drove to Defiance Ohio, and Giles went to a clinic at the Lucas County Rec Center just outside of Toledo. A short drive across the border from Monroe County, it’s a clinic that many in Michigan relied on.
“I do know individuals did go down to Lucas County especially, (but) I don’t know a number,” said Bridget Huss, Personal Health Director with the Monroe County Health Department.
Huss says those out-of-state vaccinations won’t show up in Michigan’s vaccine registry, which the governor is now using as a measurement to reopen the State.
Huss is now spreading the word, asking anyone who went out of state to bring their vaccination card to their local health department or to their doctor, so it can be added to the system.
“Once it's in the system, it will count towards our local numbers and state numbers,” Huss said. "It’s important to get the word out because I'm assuming people don’t all know to do that.”
With Michigan getting closer to reopening, every vaccine counts. Now it’s up to the residents who were missed, to make sure they're counted.