Washington – As Michigan grapples with a spike in coronavirus cases, Governor Gretchen Whitmer continued to push the Biden administration to send more vaccine doses to the state to combat the ongoing crisis.
“We’re seeing a surge in Michigan despite having some of the strongest policies in place, mask mandates, capacity limits, working from home. We’ve asked our state for a two-week break,” Whitmer said in an interview. Face the Nation. “So in spite of all that, we’re seeing an increase because of these variants. And that’s exactly why we’re really encouraging them to think about pushing vaccines to the state of Michigan.”
Whitmer first publicly urged the Biden government on Friday to send more doses of coronavirus vaccines to the state as cases, hospitalizations and deaths soar. But while Michigan is one of the nation’s worst coronavirus hotspots, the federal government declined to send more photos to the state and instead enforced its plan to distribute doses based on the adult population.
Jeffrey Zients, the coordinator of the White House’s COVID-19 Response Team, said the administration would send more vaccinators, testing supplies, therapies, and treatments to Michigan.
However, Whitmer said the state has the capacity to get more guns and warned that enforcing rigid vaccine distribution plans could harm other states as well if they experience an outbreak.
“In an enterprise of this size, with so many ramifications, it’s important to recognize where some adjustments are needed along the way,” she said, adding that more than 1 million shots have been taken in Michigan in the past two weeks. .
The state, she said, has “thousands of partners” ready to administer the vaccines, but “we just need those vaccines to get into Michigan.”
“When there is a wave, we think it’s important that we rush to meet where the need is because what happens in Michigan today could happen in other states tomorrow,” Whitmer said. And so it is up to all of us to recognize that we can play squash wherever we see hotspots. It’s in everyone’s interest. ‘
Michigan has administered more than 5.3 million doses of coronavirus vaccines since Thursday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While state residents aged 16 and over are eligible to receive their photos, Whitmer stopped dropping the requirement that residents have an appointment to be vaccinated, which could increase vaccination rates in communities that don’t have access to the internet.
“We’ve had a nomination process and it has worked out quite well,” she said. “And I think with more vaccines we’ll continue to see that well.”
While Whitmer implemented some of the nation’s tougher mitigation measures during past peaks of coronavirus infections, she also wouldn’t require requiring children to be vaccinated before returning to school. Pfizer said last week it has asked the FDA to approve its vaccine for adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15.
‘The schools can do that. We’re not having that conversation right now, ”she said. “I can tell you this. We have continued to pursue a good mitigation policy. We have continued to move shots and weapons. And that’s all despite the fact that I have limited powers due to the antagonism of my own legislature. power. And so there is no talk on that front. But we encourage schools to move forward, take a break right now and enact policies to keep their students and their staff safe. “
Whitmer attributed the spike in coronavirus infections in her state to low past infection rates, meaning fewer people have antibodies, the prevalence of variants, and resident fatigue in limiting their activities.