Lansing Sun

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hopes her plan to start vaccinating residents aged 50 and up by the end of the month could help significantly drop the number of COVID-19 deaths in the state, according to Bridge Michigan.

The announcement made this week would increase the number of people eligible to receive the vaccine by more than 2 million residents. It would also mean over one-third of the state's residents would now be eligible to receive their first dose.

"Making the vaccine available (to people over 50) will have an outsized impact on hospitalizations and deaths," Derel Glashower, Ottawa County's senior epidemiologist, told Bridge Michigan. 

Michigan residents aged 50 and older who have an underlying health condition or disability can start getting vaccinated Monday, March 8, while everyone in that age group, regardless of health status, will be eligible as of Monday, March 22.

The decision to increase the categories of people who'll be able to get vaccinated came on the heels of President Joe Biden's announcement that by the end of May a vaccine would be available to each adult in the country who wants to receive it. The ambitious timeline coincided with word that the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the existing vaccine manufacturers, Pfizer and Moderna, have increased production.

The move by the Whitmer administration to include those as young as 50 puts Michigan at the front of the line when it comes to lowering the age requirements to receive the vaccine. Most states are still working to inoculate people ages 65 and older, while Indiana and Connecticut have dropped their age threshold to 55, as reported by Bridge Michigan.

The Wolverine State is expecting to receive a half a million doses this week, which is a step in the right direction towards achieving the goal of inoculating 70% of the state's residents aged 16 and older in order to achieve "herd immunity."