The goal in Michigan is to vaccinate 70% of residents -- or 5.7 million people -- against COVID-19. | Stock Photo
The goal in Michigan is to vaccinate 70% of residents -- or 5.7 million people -- against COVID-19. | Stock Photo
In recent weeks, Michigan's state government has been criticized heavily by its residents, health officials and the media for its handling of the distribution of the new COVID-19 vaccine.
The vaccine for the novel coronavirus was developed in record-setting time, but the administration of the vaccine to the country's residents has been anything but swift.
A few weeks ago, Michigan ranked 45th in the country in vaccination rate, according to Bridge Michigan. As of late January, Michigan is now ranked 20th. This represents a significant improvement, but that hasn't prevented residents of the state from criticizing what they see as nonsensical policies and procedures that the state has put into place in relation to the distribution of the vaccine.
So far, 14,704 people in Michigan have died from the coronavirus, according to Michigan.gov, and the number is rising every day, only fueling the frustration with vaccine distribution.
Vaccine manufacturers have sent 1.5 million doses of the vaccine to Michigan, but only 800,000 had been given, as of late January. The goal of the state is to vaccinate 70 percent of its eligible population, which would total 5.7 million people. However, Michigan has a long way to go to meet that goal.
According to Mark Hackel, Macomb County executive, the problem is that not enough doses are being distributed, and when they are, they are not being distributed in an organized and logical manner. In Macomb county, the staff is available to vaccinate 50,000 people a week. With the limited supply of the vaccine, they are only able to give 5,000 doses a week. Online appointments that open up are being reserved in a matter of minutes.
Additionally, some counties are outpacing other counties at rates that don't make sense. In Detroit, only 15,000 people have been vaccinated. Smaller, rural counties have outpaced this rate, calling into question the capabilities of those responsible for distribution in Detroit and other heavily populated areas. According to officials in Detroit, however, they are having similar problems when it comes to supply.
It is clear that Michigan has come a long way, but it has a long way to go when it comes to vaccinating its residents against the coronavirus before they contract it or pass it on to others.
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