State expands vaccine eligibility

All residents 16 and older eligible on April 5

In an effort to get more Michiganders vaccinated at a quicker pace, the state is expanding the age ranges.

Starting March 22, eligibility will be open to those 16 and older with disabilities or medical conditions that are considered high risk.

Then on April 5, all Michiganders age 16 and above will be eligible for the vaccine.

“The safe COVID-19 vaccine is the most effective way to protect you, your family and others from the virus,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said. “It will help the country get back to normal and help the economy. Nearly one million Michiganders

of all races have already been safely vaccinated. I urge all eligible Michiganders to get one of the three COVID-19 vaccines.

“It is essential to getting our country back to normal, so that we can all hug our families, get back to work, go to restaurants, send our kids to school, play sports and get together again,’’ Whitmer added.

“Over 2.7 million doses of the safe and effective COVID vaccines have been administered in Michigan, and we are well on our way to vaccinating 70% of Michiganders age 16 and up,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health at MDHHS.

With the expanded vaccine eligibility, providers are still encouraged to schedule appointments and allocate vaccinations to residents based on highest risk, including older residents, essential workers, and frontline workers. The most recent vaccine prior

itization guidelines can be found on Michigan’s COVID-19 website.

This is in addition to a recent announcement that MDHHS was moving forward with vaccination of Michiganders age 50 and older with medical conditions or disabilities and caregiver family members and guardians who care for children which began on Monday.

All vaccine providers may begin vaccinating the new priority group of 1649 with medical conditions or disabilities by Monday, March 22. MDHHS is accelerating vaccination of these individuals due to concern around disparity in life expectancy and in an effort to remove barriers to vaccine access.

Based on the anticipated amount of vaccines becoming available to the state and President Biden’s directive that all adults should be eligible by May 1 , Michigan has decided to move forward with allowing all Michiganders who were not previously eligible to begin receiving vaccine on Monday, April 5.

As providers are scheduling appointments, they should consider an individual’s risk of exposure due to their employment and their vulnerability to severe disease in determining how to schedule appointments. It is anticipated that it may still take several weeks beyond April 5 for everyone who wishes to receive a vaccine to have an appointment.

Medical conditions that place individuals at increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19 are eligible for vaccination and include: cancer; chronic kidney disease; COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease); Down syndrome; heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies; immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant; obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but The following medical conditions might place an individual at an increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19, and are therefore also eligible for vaccination: asthma (moderateto-severe); cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain); cystic fibrosis; hypertension or high blood pressure; immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from blood or bone marrow transplant; immune deficiencies; HIV; use of corticosteroids or use of other immune weakening medicines; neurologic conditions, such as dementia; liver disease; overweight (BMI > 25 kg/m2 , but Those eligible to receive a vaccine should:

• Check the website of the local health department or hospital to find out their process or for registration forms; or

• Check additional vaccination sites, such as local pharmacies like Meijer, Rite Aid or Cardinal Health (U.P. residents); or

• Residents who don’t have access to the internet or who need assistance navigating the vaccine scheduling process can call the COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 (press 1), Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. or can call 2-1-1.

It is important to note that, while supplies are increasing, there remains a limited amount of vaccine available, so there may be a waitlist for available appointments. As more vaccine becomes available, the state will continue to move more quickly through the priority groups.

Michigan residents seeking more information about the COVID-19 vaccine can visit Michigan. gov/COVIDvaccine. Information around this outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/ Coronavirus and CDC.gov/ Coronavirus.