(WWJ/AP) Oakland County kicked off the effort to vaccinate their first responders against COVID-19.
One hundred EMS workers from all over the county made appointments to get vaccinated at the Waterford Regional Fire Department headquarters by public health nurses from Oakland County Health Division.
The first member of the EMS community in line was Oak Park Public Safety Director, Steve Cooper.
The first responders are from multiple communities including Oak Park, Farmington Hills, Auburn Hills, Commerce Township and South Lyon.
Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter said the county received 1,950 of the two dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Public health nurses will continue to vaccinate hundreds of paramedics in the days ahead, all by appointment
Both state and national health officials say it is likely the general public will be able to get their vaccine in the spring. Michigan Chief Medical Expert, Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, said the goal is to get 70% of the state’s adult population vaccinated by the end of 2021.
A federal panel of vaccination experts are meeting Friday to determine who should be next line to get the vaccine. Panel members are leading toward putting ‘essential workers’ (including grocery store workers and bus drivers) first because they cannot work from home and are most likely to get infected.
However, a group of experts argues that people over 65 or those with pre-existing conditions should get vaccinated next because they are dying at the highest rates.
The panel is scheduled to vote on the proposal on Sunday.
Meantime, an FDA panel is currently in the process of reviewing the Moderna vaccine and is expected to give the greenlight soon. If so, vaccinations with the second FDA-approved vaccine could begin as soon as Monday.
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