BLDHD COVID-19 Vaccine Update

What is the current status of the COVID-19 Vaccination process?     

By the end of today, the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department, with the help of our amazing partners, has administered 9,514 doses to our residents. We are projected to reach another milestone soon.  By the end of the week, the health department with the help of our partners will have administered over 10,000 doses! We have held 46 clinics in eleven different locations in Benzie and Leelanau County with the help of volunteers, Munson Healthcare, the Michigan National Guard, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Hometown Pharmacy, and Northwest Michigan Health Services, Inc.  Widespread vaccination coverage of the community is the best protection we can hope for.   

As of Monday, March 22th, all COVID-19 vaccine-approved providers (hospitals, pharmacies, doctor offices, and health departments) have administered a total of 19,235 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Benzie and Leelanau residents. Of those 19,235 doses, 11,937 were initial doses and 7,298 were completion doses (fully vaccinated).     

Who is currently eligible for the COVID-19 Vaccine?  

• Healthcare Workers  

• First Responders (EMS, Fire, Police)  

• Childcare Workers  

• K-12 School Employees  

• Corrections Staff  

• Long-term Care/Adult Foster Care/Assisted Living (Congregate Living) Staff and Residents  

• Individuals ages 50+  

• Individuals 16+ with disabilities or underlying conditions  

• Caregiver family members and guardians aged 16 and over of children and adults with special health care needs  

• Food Processing and Agriculture Workers   

• U.S. Postal Service workers  

• Grocery Store Workers  

• Public Transit Workers  

• Utilities and Critical Manufacturing Workers  

• Other Front-line Workers who are essential to maintaining critical infrastructure, services, and functions who work must be performed on-site and within close proximity to others. 

The health department will continue to focus on prioritizing those 65 and older and those that are at the highest risk for severe disease, but we have opened appointments for those who are now eligible. Anyone 16 and older can pre-register on the health department website, but information to schedule a vaccination will not be sent until appointments are available. 

We have upgraded our scheduling process which is described below:  

• Once an appointment is available, based on your eligibility phase and priority group, a link to self-schedule an appointment will be sent in a text message (see image #1) to the smart phone number entered during pre-registration or in an email if a smart phone number was not provided.  

• If the link is received, but you cannot access the internet or have issues with the link and cannot schedule on your phone, call 231-256-0219 for assistance.  

• When scheduling your appointment, the location and address of your clinic appointment is in the upper right-hand corner of the screen (see image #2).  

• Once the appointment scheduling step is complete, a confirmation email will be sent to the email address entered. This email will contain all necessary details for your vaccination appointment.  

If you have received your vaccine from another provider recently and had previously pre-registered on our new waiting list, we ask you to fill out this survey and we will remove you from the waiting list.   

All in all, with additional approved COVID-19 vaccine providers and increasing allocations of doses, there is evidence of good progress including the increasing percentage of residents (16 and over) who have received their first dose:    

• Benzie- 34.9%,    

• Leelanau- 35.8%    

• Michigan- 29.0%     

• United States- 25.7%    

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ COVID-19 vaccine Dashboard provides coverage levels for each age group and below are the rates of those 65-74 years old and 75 years and older who have received their initial dose of the COVID-19 vaccine:     

• Benzie: 65-74 years old: 61.8% and 75 years and older: 61.1% have received their initial dose. The average for all 65 years and older having received their initial dose is 62.6%. 

• Leelanau: 65-74 years old: 63.5% and 75 years and older: 55.3% have received their initial dose. The average for all 65 years and older having received their initial dose is 58.7%. 

• Michigan: 65-74 years old: 63.7% and 75 years and older: 64.5% have received their initial dose.   

As of today, here is where we are currently:    

• Number of vaccine doses allocated for next week: 1,342 doses  

• Number of vaccine doses distributed to other providers: 452 doses  

• Number of vaccine doses administered so far this week: 785 doses  

• Total number of vaccine doses administered: 9,514 doses 

• Total number of vaccine doses received: 10,423 doses 

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