SHOT OF HOPE
Vaccinations begin as nine new COVID deaths reported in mid-michigan
Preston Withun wasn’t the first person vaccinated for COVID-19 in Isabella County, but he was pretty close.
Withun, a paramedic with Midmichigan Health-mt. Pleasant’s emergency department, received the first shot of two COVID-19 vaccination shots in his right arm Thursday afternoon.
After conducting a first run with staff directly involved in care for COVID-POSItive patients, the network started inoculating its employees Thursday, including its hospitals in Clare and Alma.
The shots as new positive cases show signs of leveling off. Deaths, however, continued, with an additional nine across mid-michigan.
One of those was in Clare County, bringing its total to 17. It involved an elderly man with underlying health conditions, said Steve Hall, health officer with Central Michigan District Health Department.
Clare County saw an additional 17 cases for a cumulative total of 960.
Another death was reported in Gratiot County, its 53, according to state records.
Thursday morning, Mid-michigan District Health Department was reporting 49 deaths in the county, said Leslie Kinnee, MMDHD spokeswoman. Reporting of death information has sometimes lagged during the recent statewide surge in cases.
One of the deaths involved a woman in her 40s and one involved a man in his 90s, Kinnee said. Neither was a resident in one of the county’s nursing homes.
The county saw and additional 17 cases for a cumulative total of 2,033.
No new deaths were reported in Isabella County, where an additional 24 cases were reported for a cumulative total of 2,815.
Elsewhere in mid-michigan, seven new deaths were reported in three counties, with totals and cumulative cases as follows:
• In Gladwin County, an additional two deaths were reported for a total of 21, and an additional five cases were announced for a cumulative total of 944;
• In Montcalm County, an additional three deaths reported for a total of 53, and an additional 22 cases were announced for a cumulative total of 2,570;
• In Midland County, an additional two deaths were reported for a total of 34, and an additional nine cases were announced for a cumulative total of 3,160; and,
• An additional seven cases were reported in Mecosta County for a cumulative total of 1,499, with 12 deaths.
Statewide, another 190 deaths were reported for a total of 11,208, and another 4,024 cases were reported Monday for a cumulative total of 450,226. Of those deaths, 125 were discovered during a review of death certificates.