That's what the state's COVID-19 vaccine website and many local health departments are telling seniors, teachers, child care workers and law enforcement officers who will be eligible starting Monday for coronavirus vaccines through an expansion of the statewide immunization program.
In part, that's because local health officials had almost no heads up before Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced anyone 65 or older would soon be eligible to be vaccinated.
Whitmer announced Wednesday that starting next week, people in Priority 1B group will be able to get COVID-19 vaccines along with health care workers, people living and working in long-term care facilities and emergency medical responders who are part of the 1A Priority group.
"Please do not call local health departments for information," the state's COVID-19 Vaccine website, www.michigan.gov/COVIDvaccine, says. "They are moving as quickly as possible to make vaccine available. They will not have more information than is on this website."
Seniors like Michael Kruczek, 67, of Dearborn Heights, who will be newly eligible Monday for vaccination, say they are frustrated and confused about a lack of information about how to schedule those appointments.
"We need better information. We needed more clear information," said Kruczek, a father of two and grandfather of four. "When they say, 'Well, we're going to open it up Monday,' which is the 11th, a couple days from now, they need to be ready to administer these doses to people like me or my wife who would love to go somewhere on Monday and get the vaccine."
Whitmer directed Michiganders to go to the state's COVID-19 vaccine website for details, but more than 24 hours after that announcement was made, very few specifics had emerged about how appointments would be scheduled.
The website included links Thursday to just two local health departments — the Ingham County and LMAS District, which includes Luce, Mackinac, Alger and Schoolcraft counties — and urged Michiganders to wait and watch for more online updates.
Fran Sipari, 70, lives in Grosse Pointe Woods and adores Whitmer. But she says the state has "screwed up" its rollout of the vaccine and that's left many confused about what to do.
"This was never put out properly. It isn’t fair to anybody. Nobody asked for this disease, we’re all willing to wait our turn but you have to have a plan," said Sipari, noting the confusion around how those who will soon be eligible for vaccination should get an appointment.
"I’m not in a hurry, if it’s February first that’s fine. I can follow directions, just tell me what to do, I can do it."
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Kruczek, who lives in Wayne County and retired in 2019 after working two decades for a credit union, said he spent time both on the state's website and on Wayne County's looking for details about how to get the vaccine, but came up with nothing.
"I'm happy they would open it up to 65 and older because I would love to get the vaccine," he said. "But why would they open it up when there's nobody even in Wayne County, for example, that I could even make an appointment to go get it from? It just doesn't seem to make any sense.
"It seems to me that they're totally unprepared for administering it and I don't really understand why they would open it up to another group of individuals when ... I don't know where to get one or when I'll be able to get one."
Local health departments say they're moving as quickly as they can to create websites where people can register to be vaccinated, but were given 24 hours notice — or none at all — that the state would move to Phase 1B of the vaccination plan.
"We raised our concerns with the governor's office then that, you know, that doesn't work well for a county that has been under-supplied vaccine, at least from a health department standpoint," said William Nowling, a spokesman for Wayne County Executive Warren Evans. "As soon as the governor had her press conference, our phone blew up at the health department with people calling in, wanting to sign up to get their vaccine."
Since mid-December, the Wayne County Public Health Department has been allocated 975 doses of the state's share of Pfizer vaccine each week — even though it requests 4,875 weekly doses. The county estimates it has more than 70,000 people who fall within the top priority 1A group, which includes health care workers, emergency medical personnel, and those who live and work in long-term care facilities.
While it helps that hospitals are handling their own workers, and federal partners CVS and Walgreens are working with long-term care facilities, it still leaves a large group of people who must get vaccines through under-supplied county health departments, Nowling said.
"That's the frustrating part. We want to put shots in arms as fast as we get them, and we do. The problem is that we just aren't getting enough," he said.
"More people have been pushed into higher levels of priority, but really no more vaccine was pushed into the supply chain. So, we have a supply problem and the solution so far has been to increase the demand side of it but not the supply side."
State asks for more vaccine doses
State health officials said Thursday that all the local health departments had advance notice of the plan to open up vaccinations to people in the Priority 1B group starting Monday.
"The plan to expand vaccine opportunities has been discussed with all of them this week," said Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson for the state health department in an email message to the Free Press.
"Local health departments who are able can begin vaccination of the expanded priority groups starting Monday. We are updating the COVID-19 website with information about health departments that have indicated they are ready to begin, and eligible residents in those areas should reach out to the department about scheduling an appointment.
"As there is limited vaccine available in the state, there will be limited appointments available. As more vaccine becomes available, the state will be able to move more quickly through the priority groups. As additional health departments are ready to begin vaccination in the coming days and weeks, we will list their information on the state website."
During Wednesday's news conference, Whitmer called on the federal government to open up supply of COVID-19 vaccines so more could be provided to health departments and other providers.
As of Thursday, the state had distributed 725,000 doses of the vaccine. About 175,000 doses had been administered, according to state data.
On Thursday, Whitmer joined a coalition of eight democratic governors who sent a letter to Alex Azar, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Gen. Gustave Perna, COO of Operation Warp Speed, asking for more doses of the vaccines.
The governors of Michigan, California, New York, Kansas, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Washington allege as much as half of the doses available in the U.S. have been held back by the federal government.
“General Perna, as you have stated before, ‘a vaccine sitting on a shelf is not effective.’ We couldn’t agree with you more. That’s why we are asking for your help now. When we work together, we can end this pandemic and return to a life of normalcy sooner," the letter read.
Sutfin said state health officials are committed to moving through the vaccination process as quickly as possible.
"That’s why we are moving to make vaccine available to any Michigander over age 65; it’s why we are collaborating with the federal pharmacy program to accelerate delivery and working to address vaccine hesitancy in nursing homes; and it’s why we are accelerating distribution with the National Guard. We are also accelerating vaccinations for our K-12 and day care staff," she said.
County health officials pinched
Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said the county's phone lines were flooded Wednesday afternoon, as hopeful seniors, teachers and law enforcement officers tried to make appointments to get vaccinated starting Monday. County workers, he said, were in the "terrible position to tell them no" because of incredibly limited supply.
The county, he said, had no advance warning that the state was about to expand vaccines to people in Priority 1B, and had anticipated that wouldn't happen until late January or February.
“Now these seniors are competing with an incredibly large crowd of people, people who aren’t as vulnerable,” Hackel said, adding that seniors should have been prioritized.
He said officials estimated more than 200,000 people in Macomb County could be in this next priority group for vaccines — with only about 1,000 "woefully inadequate" doses a week coming to the county health department.
Macomb County requested 50,000 doses from the state next week and is ready to activate strike teams to vaccinate seniors, though he doubts the county will get that many doses.
“I can’t promise or schedule more than what I get,” he said, adding "this is going to be a very frustrating period."
For now, Macomb County is vaccinating paramedics and EMS workers as well as health care workers at the VerKuilen Building in Clinton Township by appointment only. Officials are working on an online appointment schedule that will roll out next week, Hackel said, with all of the county's vaccine information available at https://www.macombgov.org/covid19-COVID19VaccineCentral.
Those in Priority 1B can begin scheduling appointments Friday, Hackel said, by calling 586-463-8777. But once all available slots based on current vaccine inventory are filled, the reservation line will be closed. More appointments will be added based on supply from the state.
In Oakland County, the health division has "appointments booked for every single dose we have on hand through next Tuesday,” said Bill Mullan, spokesman for County Executive Dave Coulter, who on Thursday also urged the state to increase the county's allotment and expand the number of providers administering the vaccines.
“We can’t schedule more appointments than doses we have available from the state of Michigan," Mullan said.
Between the health division and hospitals, Oakland County has received the most doses of the vaccine in the state, getting 69,050 doses as of Tuesday. That's more than triple neighboring Wayne County's allotment (not including Detroit) of 20,175 doses and more than double Macomb County's 26,725 doses.
Mullan said the health division has been getting one shipment of 1,950 doses of the vaccine per week. The number of doses and arrival day comes with “24 hours’ notice at best.”
“We have the capacity to administer more vaccine than we’re doing so now,” he said. “It’s just a matter of the amount of doses we get from the state.”
The county health division is asking for 5,000 doses next week, he said, adding the health division could administer as many as 12,000 doses per week.
Online registration for vaccines in Oakland County launched this week, he said. Information about vaccines there can be found at https://www.oakgov.com/covid/best-practices/prepare/Pages/vaccine.aspx. Those without Internet access can dial Nurse on Call at 800-848-5533. to schedule an appointment. But right now, there are no slots available.
Officials are encouraging people to sign up for up alerts for when the county’s COVID-19 vaccine website is updated.
“When you get it, if you’re able, get right to business and register online,” Mullan said, adding appointments will be made until the supply of doses is matched; then the registration will close until the next shipment arrives.
In Wayne County, Nowling said residents should check the county's COVID-19 website: https://www.waynecounty.com/covid19/, which will soon have information on it about how to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine.
But it could be early next week before it's ready.
Even when it does launch, "you may not get an appointment right away," he said. "You may be told ... that you will be contacted when there's an opening and vaccine available.
"It feels like the state wants us to have these sites open but with no vaccine. It doesn't serve any purpose to set people's hopes up."
Steve Kelso, a spokesman for the Kent County Health Department, said "heavens, no," there aren't enough doses of COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate all the people who qualify for it in the western Michigan county.
"I think it is absolutely crucial that people give us some patience and understand straight away, that the vaccine supply is very limited. And it's going to continue to be for the foreseeable future," he said.
"We can't give you the shots we ain't got. We are working as hard as we can because what we're about to stand up, I don't know that it's ever been done. ... The logistics of touching 650,000 people not once, but twice, are staggering. Yeah, we're up for the challenge, and we're gonna do this. I promise you, we're gonna do it with the best dedication and heart that we've got. But, holy cow is it a lot of work."
Kent County residents in the Priority 1B group should keep an eye on the website https://vaccinatewestmi.com/ in the days ahead for details about how to make an appointment for a vaccination.
Detroit rolls out vaccine plan
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced Thursday a detailed plan that will vaccinate seniors, law enforcement officers, DDOT employees, other city workers and those who stay or work in homeless shelters at a drive-up clinic at the TCF Center.
On Monday, the city plans to open its vaccine scheduling hotline, which is 313-230-0505, and will be open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri.
The plan, he said, is to schedule 20,000 vaccination appointments beginning Wednesday and for the following four weeks, but availability will be based on vaccine supply.
"We are going to keep ramping up our vaccinations to the maximum extent the supply allows,” Duggan said in a news release.
Here is how Detroit’s plan will roll out:
CITY ESSENTIAL WORKERS: Starting Friday, Detroit police officers and DDOT bus drivers will be offered vaccines. Police officers will be vaccinated by precinct at the Detroit Fire Department’s Walter Harris training facility at the end of their shifts and will be paid one hour of straight time. DDOT personnel will be vaccinated at their respective DDOT terminals and also will be paid for one extra hour. After DPD and DDOT workers, other city employees providing essential services will be scheduled for vaccinations. SENIORS AND HOMELESS SHELTERS: The city health department will vaccinate residents and staff at Boulevard Manor Friday, the only nursing home in the city without an existing vaccination plan through a private provider. Starting next week, the health department, in partnership with Wayne State University medical, nursing and pharmacy students, will begin vaccinating at 60 senior citizen buildings and 29 homeless shelters in the city. Staff will visit two senior buildings and one homeless shelter every day and expect to complete work by the end of February. TCF CENTER VACCINATIONS: Any Detroit resident age 75 or older is eligible to schedule a drive-up appointment for a vaccination at the TCF Center starting next week. Detroiters ages 65 and older are eligible for the vaccine if they drive someone 75 or older to TCF for the immunization. Proof of residence will be required.
More details are available at: www.detroitmi.gov.
Hospital systems jump in to help
Michigan Medicine announced Thursday it will provide COVID-19 vaccines to all of its senior citizen patients as part of the state's expansion to the Priority 1B group.
"Invites will be sent to all patients 65 and older who are current Michigan Medicine patients under the care of a Michigan Medicine primary care provider or who have had a visit with any Michigan Medicine provider in the last two years," said Mary Masson, a spokeswoman for the Ann Arbor-based health system affiliated with the University of Michigan.
The St. Joseph Mercy Health System promised to do the same, said Susan Ringler Cerniglia, a spokeswoman for the Washtenaw County Health Department.
"That's really, really good news for all of us," Ringler Cerniglia said. "It's fabulous news. ... Michigan Medicine has confirmed they will do patients that fall in that older age group and St. Joseph Mercy Health has also confirmed that they will continue offering vaccinations both to the older group as well as essential workers.
"So for us, that's just huge because it just really maximizes the numbers that we'll be able to accommodate."
So far, the Washtenaw County Health Department has received 2,925 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and has been able to deliver about 1,400 doses into the arms of people this week — a tiny fraction of the roughly 8,000 people it estimated it would need to vaccinate within the Priority 1A group and the more than 70,000 estimated to be older than 75.
"And that doesn't even include people between 65 and 75," Ringler Cerniglia said.
She urged Washtenaw County residents who fall within the 1B priority group to go to www.washtenaw.org/COVID19 and register starting Monday for a vaccine. Residents can also sign up for email notification on the site. Those without Internet access can call the health department main number starting Monday at 734-544-6700.
Similar arrangements have been worked out with Beaumont Health and the Henry Ford Health System.
Dr. Jeffrey S. Fischgrund, a spine surgeon and chief of clinical services for Beaumont Health's eight hospitals, said patients ages 65 and older who have active MyChart accounts will start to get email notifications in the days ahead about scheduling a vaccination.
"Within the next few days, similar to U-M, we will be inviting everybody in our database that we have an email for that is 65-plus to schedule the vaccine, and in our case that's over 200,000 people," said Fischgrund, who also serves as medical director of the COVID-19 vaccine steering committee.
His best advice to any patient who's a senior citizen: Make sure your MyChart account is activated and that it's linked to a working email address. And if you can't figure out how to do that, ask someone else to help set it up.
Appointments will be made, he said, based on vaccine supply.
"Logistically, it is very, very complex," Fischgrund said. "None of us have ever done something like this on this scale before.
"Right now we only have a week's supply. So we will have the schedule opened up for next week. We can do up to 3,200 a day. ... We'll find out at the end of the week how much we're getting for two weeks from now, and then we'll open up the schedule again."
At Henry Ford Health System, plans are being finalized now to include vaccinations for patients 65 and older.
"We expect to begin providing vaccinations as early as Monday at one Detroit site, with plans to open additional sites by the end of next week," said spokesman John Gillespie.
"We will soon be reaching out proactively to our eligible patients to provide resources to help them make an informed decision, as well as encourage them to sign up for a MyChart account if they don’t already have one, for convenient online scheduling when appointments become available.
"Additionally, we are also working with multiple community partners to provide vaccinations for the expanded group of essential workers, independent physicians and healthcare providers, as well as clinical students who are participating in educational programs at Henry Ford Health System."
Contact Kristen Jordan Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine? Michigan health departments say expect delays
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