The State of Michigan is headed somewhere as COVID-19 vaccination rates continue to rise, state officials say, which is good for the economy.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist recently issued statements as Michigan reaches 60% of the population age 16 and older receiving at least a first dose of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine.
“Thanks to every Michigander who stepped up to keep themselves, their family, and their community safe,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer in a press release. “We can all feel a sense of optimism thanks to the tireless efforts of countless frontline workers who put their own safety on the line to keep the rest of us going. And we are tremendously grateful to the medical community who kept us all safe and created the safe, effective vaccines, all miracles of modern science. As we cross the 60% milestone in vaccinations, we are seeing cases, deaths, and hospitalizations continue to fall fast, which has helped to poise our economy for a strong recovery. I know that we can give Michigan the economic jumpstart it needs with the billions in available federal funds and our multi-billion dollar budget surplus. We will emerge from this once-in-a-century pandemic stronger than ever, and I am confident that we can make lasting, transformative investments in our schools, small businesses, and communities to help them thrive.”
“I am pleased to see that so many Michiganders are continuing to make the choice to get vaccinated. Thank you to every person who has had a conversation with someone in their life to encourage them to get vaccinated, and the professionals and volunteers who have made vaccines available everywhere in our state,” said Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II. “These safe, effective vaccines are our best shot to end this pandemic on our own terms. As more Michiganders make that choice, we come closer and closer to confidently growing our economy across the board, and setting our path toward a stronger Michigan. As we reach these vaccine milestones, we’re able to hug our families, return to offices, enjoy a dinner out at our favorite restaurant, and safely spend time with friends.”
Detroit News also reported that U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that state workers behind the creation of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will help the country become “the arsenal of vaccines.” Biden compared the current times to when workers built tanks and planes during World War II.
“… The plan is for a half a billion doses that we’ll be sending around the world to be produced in the United States, including at Pfizer’s manufacturing plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan,” Biden said during a visit in the United Kingdom, the Detroit News reported.
“Just as the American economy is recovering, it is in all of our interests to have the global economy begin to recover as well. And that won’t happen unless we can get the pandemic under control worldwide. That’s why, as I said in my address to the joint session of Congress in April, America will be the arsenal of vaccines in our fight against COVID — COVID-19, just as America was the arsenal of democracy during World War Two,” Biden said Thursday, according to the Detroit News.
According to the article, the World Health Organization (WHO) website reported 174,061,995 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, including 3,758,560 deaths. Who reported more than 2.1 billion vaccine doses had been administered.
In Michigan, 59.9% of residents ages 16 and up, or roughly 4.84 million people, received at least one dose as of Thursday.
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