On January 11, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar requesting permission to directly purchase up to 100,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines for Michigan. Whitmer also made note that since she and eight other governors sent a letter to the Trump Administration requesting that they distribute the millions of the COVID-19 vaccine doses that are currently not being delivered, she has not received a response.
“We remain ready to accelerate distribution to get doses into arms,” said Whitmer. “Toward that end, I am writing to request permission for the State of Michigan to make a one-time purchase of up to 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine directly from Pfizer to be distributed and administered consistent with CDC guidelines and the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine.”
Whitmer has been working around the clock with leaders in state government and local health departments to cement Michigan’s status as a nationwide leader in vaccine distribution. On Wednesday, the CDC released new data that shows Michigan is in the top 15 states when it comes to vaccine distribution.
Last week, Governors Gretchen Whitmer, Gavin Newsom (CA), Laura Kelly (KS), J.B. Pritzker (IL), Tim Walz (MN), Andrew Cuomo (NY), Tony Evers (WI), Jay Inslee (WA), and Kate Brown (OR) sent a letter to Secretary Azar and General Perna requesting that the federal government distribute the millions of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine doses that are currently being held back by the Trump Administration. According to publicly reported information, the federal government currently has upwards of 50% of currently produced vaccines held back by the administration for reasons unknown. After the governors sent the letter, the incoming Biden administration announced that they will release all of the available vaccine doses that the Trump Administration is holding back.
To view the full letter to Secretary Azar, click here.
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