Hackel talks vaccines, Lucido dispute
Appearing on a news talk show Sunday morning, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said the county is in a “full court press” to get seniors vaccinated, predicted a strong economic rebound from the pandemic and refused to enter the political fray between the county prosecutor and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Hackel was a guest on WDIV-TV (Channel 4)’s “Flashpoint” along with Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter and Wayne County Executive Warren Evens, discussing the state’s response to the virus crisis and its impact on the local economy.
The Macomb County leader said he was encouraged with the rollout of the vaccine supplies and said county officials have worked to create a strong infrastructure with local healthcare agencies and pharmacies to distribute the shots.
“As we sit here today, in Macomb County we have well over 60% of our senior population 65 and older have received it,” the Macomb Township Democrat said. “That’s a good statistic, a great number.”
Hackel also said while he is encouraged by economic signs for a post-COVID-19 workplace, some businesses “are going to be left behind and not make it out of this.” And he called the county prosecutor’s ongoing spat with the governor over nursing home deaths “distasteful.”
His comments follow news Friday from Lansing where Whitmer said all residents age 16 and up will become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine on April 5, nearly a month before the May 1 date pledged by President Joe Biden.
People age 16 to 49 with certain medical conditions or disabilities will qualify starting March 22, when 50- to 64-year-olds can begin getting shots under a previous announcement. Two days later, March 24, a federally-selected regional mass vaccination site will open at Detroit’s Ford Field to administer an additional 6,000 doses a day for two months.
Both Hackel and Oakland County’s Coulter said there was frustration in the earlier days of the vaccine distribution as demand easily exceeded supply. The supply line is quickly increasing, both said.
“All of us said more doses are helpful, but on a weekto-week basis, we continue to see the numbers grow,” Coulter said. “We are also very focused on our senior population 65 and above. We’ve done 60% but we still have 65,000 seniors in that category on our list.”
Like Hackel, Coulter said Oakland’s work to create partnerships with pharmacies and others will result in “easy access to get the vaccine as conveniently as possible.”
Hackel, a longtime sports fan, reached for the March Madness of collegiate basketball reference as he said Macomb has launched a “full court press” with healthcare agencies and pharmacies to have 70% of the county’s seniors vaccinated by the end of the month.
In other topics: • Financial assistance such as unemployment pay and stimulus checks are dissuading some people from returning to work, especially in the restaurant industry.
But elsewhere, particularly in manufacturing, Hackel said the county was well positioned to return. He again floated the idea for Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township to house the F-35 aircraft. In April 2020, the Air Force announced it was bypassing Selfridge for other air fields to locate as many as 18 of the new F-35A Lightning II.
“I think we’re going to rebound, I think we’re going to see a comeback” he said of the state’s economy. “But let’s face it — some businesses that are impacted are going to be left behind and not make it out of this. But we are trying to figure out a way to work with them.”
• Hackel said “I try to stay away from” the political bantering between Republican Peter Lucido, the newly-elected county prosecutor and former state senator, and Gov. Whitmer over possible criminal charges being filed relating to state nursing home deaths from the coronavirus.
Lucido, a frequent critic of the governor, is seen as possibly using the controversy to run for statewide office next year, possibly attorney general or governor.
Hackel was asked for this thoughts on the political dispute.
“I find some of this political stuff very distasteful and all it does is to create tension you’re seeing through the entire country,” he said. “Whatever Pete is up to in regard to the governor, I have not been part of it and don’t know what he’s got planned.”
Instead, both Democrats and Republicans should focus their efforts on the issues of the day, including road repairs, bolstering the economy and ending the pandemic, Hackel said.