LANSING (AP) Republican legislative leaders on Friday welcomed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer s metric-based approach to further relaxing coronavirus restrictions, b
Associated Press
MICHIGAN GOV. GRETCHEN Whitmer receives her second dose of Pfizerâs COVID-19 vaccine Thursday from Dr. Joneigh Khaldun in Grand Rapids, Mich. (Hope Davison/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)
LANSING, Mich. (AP) Republican legislative leaders Friday welcomed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s metric-based approach to further relaxing coronavirus restrictions, but they questioned what will happen if Michigan’s COVID-19 vaccination rate falls below targets.
Their comments came a day after the Democratic governor announced four benchmarks that will trigger additional economic reopening when 55%, 60%, 65% and 70% of people ages 16 and up get at least one shot. About half have done so to date. The state, where the seven-day infection rate remains highest in the U.S. but is dropping, now needs at least two of every five unvaccinated residents to receive a dose.
Michigan Republicans question vaccine-only metric for reopening steps
Federica Narancio/AP
Pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced on its website that it had received permission from the Food and Drug Administration that they can enroll children as young as 12 in its COVID-19 vaccine trial. (Federica Narancio/AP)
and last updated 2021-05-01 10:40:51-04
LANSING, Mich. (AP) â Republican legislative leaders on Friday welcomed Gov. Gretchen Whitmerâs metric-based approach to further relaxing coronavirus restrictions, but they questioned what will happen if Michiganâs COVID-19 vaccination rate falls below targets.
Their comments came a day after the Democratic governor announced four benchmarks that will trigger additional economic reopening â when 55%, 60%, 65% and 70% of people ages 16 and up get at least one shot. About half have done so to date. The state, where the seven-day infection rate remains highest in the U.S. but is dropping, now needs at least two of
gneese@mininggazette.com
HOUGHTON In a bid to inspire more Michigan residents to get vaccinated, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Thursday the state would tie further rollbacks of COVID-19 restrictions to statewide vaccination rates.
Whitmer’s plan gradually eliminates limits as more people get vaccinated, effectively restoring the pre-COVID status quo when at least 70% of people 16 and up receive at least one dose.
“The more people that get vaccinated, the better, the more likely we can put this virus behind us and forestall the possibility of variants … our work will not be done when we hit one of these goals, but we we can enjoy a lot of things that we’ve all been craving when we do,” Whitmer said at a news conference Thursday.
Okubai has tried for weeks to set up his commercial driver license test. The system online kept telling him there were no appointments for at least a month. So, he had been calling the Secretary of State’s Office to see if he could snatch one of the appointments they release daily.
He was lucky. On Wednesday, he got one for Thursday. Still, he’s frustrated.
“It should be easy to set up an appointment,” Okubai said. “But it is not.”
Many can relate.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson campaigned in 2018 as an expert at streamlining bureaucracies, promising she’d ensure customers would wait no more than 30 minutes at branches if she was elected.