Shelby Review

In just a few weeks, Michigan has gone from ranking 45th to 20th in the rate at which the state is getting residents vaccinated.

Despite this improvement, many state officials want to see more vaccinations done at a quicker pace. According to information from Bridge Michigan, 1.5 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been delivered to Michigan, but only 802,000 residents have received inoculations so far. 

Of those given, 659,000 people have received their first dose and 143,000 have already received the second dose of the vaccine, as of late January. This calculates into approximately 6,500 per 100,000 people statewide.

Michigan has set a goal of vaccinating 70% of its adult population, which would work out to more than 5.7 million people.

“That’s been the incredible challenge: the demand does not meet the availability of the supply right now,” Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said, according to Bridge Michigan. 

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan's spokesperson, John Roach, said that Detroit has used more than 75% of the vaccinations shipped to the city.

President Joe Biden's administration made an announcement that there would be a 16% increase in doses for each state this week, which would add between 30,000 and 40,000 more doses in Michigan alone. 

Despite increasing vaccination shipments and county officials pushing for residents to get vaccinated, some issues are standing in the way of meeting Michigan's goal. One of these issues is that the African-American and Hispanic communities are reluctant to be vaccinated, according to Bridge Michigan. 

Another issue Michigan is seeing is due to lack of technology. In cities like Flint and Detroit, up to 40% of residents do not have an internet connection, and for communities offering appointment sign-ups online, this leaves those without internet access unable to make an appointment.

"In many places — and we've seen it in cities all across the country —  people only had one way to find out, and that was online. Of course, we know we have a big digital divide,” said Debra Furr-Holden, a professor of public health at Michigan State University, according to Bridge Michigan.

Currently, Michigan's approach to giving the COVID-19 vaccination is by distributing more doses to communities that have a higher population of those vulnerable to being infected. State health spokesperson Lynn Sutfin said Michigan continues to follow the CDC's protection guidelines to help those living in these communities. 

“These prioritizations may change as more information on vaccine effectiveness and additional vaccination products become available,” Sutfin said, according to Bridge Michigan.