Friday, June 11 Update

Hi there,

I think many of us can agree we are thrilled that summer has finally arrived here in Michigan.  What is the number one thing we can do to keep ourselves safe from COVID-19 this summer?  If you or your loved ones haven’t already, get vaccinated. If more and more people get vaccinated, our positive cases will hopefully continue to decrease and remain stable. One by One, vaccination will allow us to safely enjoy more of summer, travel, gather with our loved ones and get our students safely back to school this fall.

Our weekly COVID-19 Update video is a press conference featuring young Oakland County residents who decided to get vaccinated and be ‘vaccine ambassadors’. Check it out below.

For those of you who view our local vaccine distribution data, we have enhanced our data page on Oakland County’s COVID-19 Vaccine Hub. You will find simple dashboards showing how many residents have received their first vaccine dose or are fully vaccinated.

Included is the county’s overall vaccination coverage as well as information divided by age and community. A quick note on the date about doses we have received and administered. Before May 23, we received COVID-19 vaccine doses on behalf of providers in our Partner Network and re-distributed based on requests. Due to increasing supply, providers now order doses directly from the state. Beginning the week of May 23, doses reported are only for the county Health Division and do not include doses received and processed by our Partner Network.

Today the state’s COVID-19 vaccine dashboard reports 1,299,768 doses have been given to Oakland County residents. 66% of residents 16 years of age or older have received one or more doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Visit the Oakland County Vaccine Hub for even more data related to vaccination.

In good health,

Leigh-Anne Stafford

Director, Health and Human Services

Consider vaccinating kids for summer break

With summer break beginning, consider getting children ages 12 and up vaccinated to protect against COVID-19 during the summer and beyond. Kids may spend more time in the summer months with other unmasked children and teens, attend summer camps, spend a vacation with elderly residents or people with preexisting conditions who can’t get vaccinated, and other group activities that can increase risk of getting COVID-19.

While fewer children have been sick with COVID-19 compared to adults, children can be infected, get sick, and spread COVID-19 to others. Children who have COVID-19 but have no symptoms can still spread the virus to others. Most children with COVID-19 have mild or no symptoms at all. However, some children can get severely ill from COVID-19 and may require hospitalization. CDC and partners are also investigating a rare but serious medical condition associated with COVID-19 in children called Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C).

Other preventive measures, such as masks among unvaccinated individuals, hand washing, and physically distancing among large groups, are also encouraged.

Read about one Oakland County mom who shares why she decided to vaccinate her kids.

Accessible vaccine sites help individuals with disabilities

Getting vaccinated isn’t always easy for a person with disabilities. Oakland County is partnering with JARC to help make that a reality.  JARC provides vaccinations for people 12 years of age or older who live or work in Oakland County. This site is especially good for anyone who could get overwhelmed easily at a larger vaccination site, those who require a barrier-free environment, and/or people who speak with American Sign Language (ASL).

Check out this story from the Associated Press to learn more about JARC’s community efforts.

Wheelchairs and wheelchair assistance is also available at most indoor Health Division sites. Register here for a COVID-19 vaccine through JARC. Questions? Call 248-940-2605 or vaccinehotline@jarc.org

Week at a Glance-Health Division upcoming vaccination sites

The following locations will offer first dose COVID-19 vaccination appointments for individuals 12 years and older (unless otherwise indicated):

• Monday, June 14
  • Lighthouse of Oakland County (Pontiac), 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
  • 18+ Johnson & Johnson site
• Tuesday, June 15
  • Groveland Fire Department (Holly), 9 a.m.- 1 p.m.
• Thursday, June 17
  • Springfield Fire Station #2 (Davisburg), 3-7 p.m.
  • Gary Burnstein Community Health Clinic (Pontiac), 2-5 p.m.

For more details about these locations, walk-in availability, or to make an appointment, click on our Get Vaccinated page. Vaccination appointments can also be booked over the phone by calling 800-848-5533, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. COVID-19 vaccinations are provided at no cost.

OaklandCountyVaccine.com is the best place to receive the latest information.