(WXYZ) — The State of Michigan is actively working on plans to distribute and store a COVID-19 vaccine.
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Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said that there are 48 hospitals and 12 local health departments that have the freezer capabilities to be able to receive and administer the Pfizer vaccine.
For the Moderna vaccine, there are more than 100 hospitals and health departments across the state that can store and distribute it.
According to the state, they are working with all of the sites to make sure they have what they need, as the vaccine will be available in very limited quantities at first.
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The state's first priority, according to Khaldun, will be to keep healthcare systems operating. That means the first vaccines will likely go to frontline healthcare workers, EMS workers, and other workers in ICUS and emergency departments.
According to Khaldun, that could come in the next two weeks, as the FDA may give emergency-use authorization to one or both vaccines.
The next step, the state said, would be to get the vaccine out to congregate care facilities and resident care facilities. They hope that could happen by January.
Vaccinations will continue to expand to other types of critical health care workers, as well as educators and those who are at severe risk of infection or serious complications from COVID-19.
Finally, according to the state, the hope is to have the vaccine available to the general public by late spring.
Each of these vaccines will require two doses for immunity.
Additional Coronavirus information and resources:
Click here for a page with resources including a COVID-19 overview from the CDC, details on cases in Michigan, a timeline of Governor Gretchen Whitmer's orders since the outbreak, coronavirus' impact on Southeast Michigan, and links to more information from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC and the WHO.
View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.
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