LANSING, Mich. — Michigan has reached health officials’ goal of vaccinating at least 70% of residents 16 and older with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
As of Monday, almost 5.7 million Michiganders have received at least one dose, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
“We know the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines are our way out of the pandemic,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive at MDHHS. “Vaccines are how we prevent infectious variants from spreading and threatening our ability to contain the pandemic. It’s important to take a moment to celebrate the hard work of those who have developed these vaccines, as well as those who have administered vaccines these past many months. We also thank Michiganders who have done their part to keep their families and communities safe by getting vaccinated.”
State officials say their objective remains to get as many residents vaccinated as possible.
Between January and October, unvaccinated Michiganders accounted for 93.1% of COVID-19 cases, 90.7% of hospitalizations and 90.5% of deaths.
As more individuals get vaccinated, it is less likely that the virus will circulate and mutate, avoiding the development of more transmissible and vaccine-resistant variants in the future.
“This is great news and we have been looking forward to surpassing this milestone since the vaccines became available,” MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel said. “We urge Michiganders who are eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible and to continue practices we know help stop the spread of COVID-19, including wearing masks and social distancing. The vaccine continues to be how we will return to normalcy in the state, and we thank all of those who have done their part to end this pandemic.”