Protect Michigan Commission Weekly Newsletter

March 2, 2021

More than two million Michiganders have received the approved COVID-19 vaccine, a third vaccine is available and just today, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced increased capacity limits and visitations. These are benchmarks worth celebrating but there is much more work ahead as Michigan works to get 70% of the state vaccinated by year’s end.

Protect Michigan Commission’s (PMC) constituency workgroups have been diligently meeting and strategizing ways to deliver important, accurate information about the vaccine to every member of their communities.

Last week PMC met to discuss workgroup progress and receive an update on Michigan’s current vaccine distribution strategy from Elizabeth Hertel, DHHS Director and Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Chief Medical Executive and DHHS Chief Deputy for Health. The presentations and meeting video can be found here.

Meetings this week:

Thursday, March 4

Education 2 p.m.

Youth 2 p.m.

Friday, March 5

Healthcare 10 a.m.

Latinx 11 a.m.

If you'd like to join one of these or a different workgroup from our list, please email ProtectMICommission@michigan.gov.

Vaccine Eligibility Update

More than 79,000 agriculture and food processing workers in Michigan are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine this week. Leaders in the Michigan agriculture industry are supporting efforts to help get employees vaccinated.

This group includes food processing workers such as workers at meat processing and meatpacking facilities; workers who process fruit and vegetables; dairy processing; animal feed manufacturing; food and animal feed ingredient manufacturing; beverage production; and the production of food packaging.

March 1 eligibility includes farm workers, including migrant and seasonal workers, involved in raising, cultivating, harvesting, packing, storing, and distributing agricultural commodities, and who are by the nature of their work in close proximity with others. 

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development issued emergency rules to protect migrant and seasonal agricultural workers from the spread of COVID-19 within housing communities.

In case you missed it

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued emergency use approval of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose COVID-19 vaccine. In a statement, Governor Whitmer said, “the addition of this one-and-done vaccine will help us get shots in arms quicker.”
• The State of Michigan hosted a community town hall addressing questions about the COVID-19 vaccine within communities of color. Last week’s town hall, moderated by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, featured several PMC appointees and workgroup members. Watch the full town hall here.
• With the mission of enhancing the state’s vaccine equity strategy, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and PMC launched a community outreach pilot program. Providers that are federally enrolled to issue COVID-19 vaccine were encouraged to apply to help remove barriers for those ages 60 and up who are most vulnerable to the effects of the virus, and that live in high Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) communities that may have high COVID-19 mortality rates. Applicants accepted into the community outreach pilot project can request up to 2,500 doses. Awardees will be selected March 8.

Take Action: Click, Save, Share

Do I need to show an ID to receive the vaccine?

How much will the vaccine cost me?

Is the COVID-19 vaccine safe for pregnant women?

This is a small sample of the questions the workgroups are hearing from their constituencies. To stop the spread of misinformation and myths, PMC has answered each one in a series of fact cards (like the card you see here) that can be easily shared in newsletters, on social networks and can be printed out, too. We are continually adding more and translating them into Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and more.

You can share this card with the following text:

When you get your Dose of Hope, you may be asked to provide some personal information, but an ID is not required. Learn more about the vaccine and what to expect when it’s your turn at Michigan.gov/COVIDvaccine

Additional Resources

COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard

Vaccination data will be updated Monday - Saturday from the Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR).

COVID-19 Vaccine Prioritization Guidance

This guidance outlines the strategy for vaccine prioritization for the State of Michigan and will be used by MDHHS, as well as public health and health care, as they allocate and administer vaccines.

COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs

Frequently asked questions about the COVID-19 vaccines. The information in this document will change frequently as we learn more about COVID-19 vaccines.