(WWJ) Wayne County will ramp up COVID-19 vaccinations for teachers this coming week after receiving thousands more doses.
The State of Michigan informed the county it will receive 8,375 first doses of the vaccine this week, nearly double the 4,350 doses received the previous week.
Nearly all of those doses are slated to go to K-12 teachers, as soon as Tuesday. The vaccinations will take place at the VisTaTech Center at Schoolcraft College and a new location at Wayne County Community College Downriver in Taylor.
Teachers will be contacted by their district or school administrator, according to a county press release.
Wayne County will also receive close to 3,000 doses this coming week to provide second doses to residents who have already had their first dose.
The shipment includes both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
However, County Executive Warren Evans said the current allotment remains “insufficient” to vaccinate all of the essential workers.
“I am fighting to ensure Wayne County receives the number of doses it needs based on a fair and equitable formula that reflects our population, the higher social vulnerability of many of our residents, and our status as Michigan’s most diverse county,” Evans said in a release.
Evans requested a meeting Thursday with state health officials and members of Governor Whitmer’s staff because he said Wayne County’s Health Division received fewer doses of the vaccine than other counties with a bigger population. He argued the “disparity in vaccine allotment” was slowing the counties efforts to vaccinate essential workers, i.e., teachers and people in the medical field, included in the state’s Phase 1A and Phase 1B plan.
People over 65, and certain high-risk patients, will receive their vaccine through their health systems such as Henry Ford or Beaumont.
The exception is Detroit where residents over 65 and some essential workers can make an appointment through the city’s health department to get vaccinated at the TCF Center. To see if you are eligible and how to make an appointment, click here.
According to Michigan’s COVID-19 vaccine dashboard; nearly 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed within the state. Just over 909,000 doses have been administered statewide.
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