LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) — The State of Michigan will begin vaccinating more frontline workers like teachers and police, and senior citizens, against the coronavirus next week.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun made the announcement during a press conference on Wednesday.
According to the MDHHS, these groups will be able to start getting vaccinations.
- Michiganders age 65 and older
- Police officers
- First responders
- Frontline state and federal workers
- Jail and prison staff
- PreK-12 teachers and childcare providers
The state is accelerating the plan to vaccinate those 65 and older as 80% of the deaths from COVID-19 come from that age group.
“The more people we can get the safe and effective vaccine, the faster we can return to a sense of normalcy,” Whitmer said in a release. “I urge all seniors to get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible and that all Michiganders make a plan to get vaccinated when it becomes available to you. And as always: mask up, practice safe social distancing, and avoid indoor gatherings where COVID-19 can easily spread from person to person. We will eliminate this virus together.”
“We are pleased to move the state forward in the next stage of vaccinations,” Khaldun added. “These vaccines are safe and effective, and we especially want our first responders, teachers and older adults to get vaccinated as soon as possible. The strategy we are announcing today is efficient, effective, and equitable, focusing on making vaccine available to those who have the highest level of risk, whether it is because of where they work or because of their age.”
The phases of the vaccination are below.
- Phase 1A: Paid and unpaid persons serving in healthcare settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials and are unable to work from home as well as residents in long term care facilities.
- Phase 1B: Persons 75 years of age or older and frontline essential workers in critical infrastructure.
- Phase 1C: Individuals 16 years of age or older at high risk of severe illness due to COVID-19 infection and some other essential workers whose position impacts life, safety and protection during the COVID-19 response.
- Phase 2: Individuals 16 years of age or older.
Senior citizens are urged to visit Michigan.gov/COVIDVaccine [lnks.gd] to find local health departments and other local vaccine clinics near them that are ready to book appointments.
Those essential workers will be notified by their employers about vaccine clinic dates and locations.
More than 140,000 doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine have been administered since it became available last month in Michigan.
Additional Coronavirus information and resources:
View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.
See complete coverage on our Coronavirus Continuing Coverage page.
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