Credit Spectrum Health
Leelanau County has vaccinated 52% of its 16-years-and-older population, according to the latest figures from the state Department of Health and Human Services.
Lisa Peacock, the health officer for the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department, said she and her staff achieved the milestone with community support.
“We never know for certain exactly why things happen, but I can tell you for certain that in Leelanau County, we’ve just had such great partnerships throughout this entire pandemic response,” she said.
Peacock said those partnerships started at the beginning of the pandemic, when people volunteered to help hang up the signs announcing screening and masking requirements for employees. She said it continues with teenagers talking to their classmates about how to protect their families from the virus, and neighboring health departments donating vaccine doses.
A Northern Michigan county is the first in the state to fully vaccinate more than half of its eligible residents against COVID-19.
Leelanau County has vaccinated 52% of its 16-years-and-older population, according to the latest figures from the state Department of Health and Human Services.
Lisa Peacock, the health officer for the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department, said she and her staff achieved the milestone with community support.
“We never know for certain exactly why things happen, but I can tell you for certain that in Leelanau County, we’ve just had such great partnerships throughout this entire pandemic response.”
Peacock said those partnerships started at the beginning of the pandemic, when people volunteered to help hang up the signs announcing screening and masking requirements for employees. She said it continues with teenagers talking to their classmates about how to protect their families from the virus, and neighboring health departments donating v
9 & 10 News
April 22, 2021
The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department says it’s in part to their multiple vaccination clinics.
Health officer, Lisa Peacock says, “People need to be vaccinated in order to get to that level of community immunity that we need to just really drive down transmission of COVID-19.”
They say their focus has been to make the vaccine accessible.
Peacock says community members have been eager to lend a hand.
“We’ve also recruited community volunteers who have helped us to be able to put on these clinics every single week. Every single week we get 400-500 doses of vaccine, and every single week we administer 400-500 doses.”
That may mean that mass vaccination clinics and drive-throughs will soon fade, giving way to pop-up clinics at neighborhood centers, high schools, churches and mosques, or being offered a vaccine at a doctor’s office during a routine visit.
“We ve kind of hit all those people who wanted it, who were fighting to get their vaccines, who were jumping in front of everyone else,” said Sarah Oleniczak, deputy health officer at District Health Department, which covers 10 central Michigan counties. “Now we can take a breath and we can go off-site.”
Getting Michigan to herd immunity by having at least 70 percent of its population vaccinated or otherwise immune won’t be easy. Few thought it would be. The strategy now shifts to a more arduous ground game into the nooks and crannies of Michigan.
Northern Michigan Outpaces Rest of State in Vaccine Administration 9and10news.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 9and10news.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.