(WXYZ) — Late Wednesday night, the FDA authorized Pfizer's third booster COVID-19 vaccine for senior citizens and other high-risk groups.
The announcement comes as the state of Michigan hit a grim number of more than 1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
But, Wayne County is hitting a positive milestone, reaching the goal of 70% of county residents vaccinated.
We are all fighting the same fight, but county officials say they took the time to go into communities and find out why they weren't getting the shot. Some said they needed more information to settle any hesitations, and others just needed access.
"With the vaccination rate, I think we've put ourselves in a better position," County Executive Warren Evans said.
After months of pleas to the community, door-knocking and clinics, Evans can finally celebrate a victory.
"We've had health department people go out to people who couldn't travel to our vaccine centers," he said. "I mean we tried to do everything we could do but I think the public education along with the dedication of the health department people are probably the main keys."
Progress is also being made at the federal level as the FDA approved the Pfizer booster shot for those 65 and older, the medically fragile, and those working in high-risk environments.
"I suspect, what's going to happen is we will continue to collect data on this cohort, 65 and over, and other people who are made eligible and eventually the agency may walk down the authorization to younger age cohorts," Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA commissioner, said.
President Joe Biden's administration announced booster shots should become available this week to anyone who completed their initial doses more than eight months ago.
An FDA panel decided to pump the brakes and restrict boosters to a narrower group.
The CDC is expected to vote on how boosters should be given and who should get them.
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