As Michigan sees dip in COVID shots, incentive offers pop up
Apr. 23—From money to food credits to invitations to walk right in with no appointment necessary, local institutions have begun offering incentives aimed at keeping vaccination rates up across Michigan as the number of shots in arms has started to decline.
Michigan administered 567,115 doses of the vaccine during the week of April 17, a 16% decrease from the nearly 658,700 doses administered during the week of April 10, according to data onthe state health department's website. It was the first time the number had dipped since the beginning of March.
At the same time, doses shipped to Michigan by the federal government declined about 8% from 914,760 doses during the week of April 10 to 840,710 doses last week, according to state data.
Ford Field's Federal Emergency Management Agency mass vaccination site also experienced a drop in doses administered in the past week.
It's too early to say from a one-week dip whether demand is softening for the vaccine or whether it reflects a drop in supply perhaps because of the pause in the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine, said Ryan Malosh, an assistant research scientist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Experts would need to analyze more data by age, race, ethnicity and location, he said.
But Malosh said, "Those numbers are not encouraging."
Michigan ranks ninth in the nation for the number of people who are fully vaccinated. Through Thursday, 33% of Michigan's 8.1 million adults 16 years and older had been completely vaccinated, according to the state health department's website.
If the one-week dip turns into a trend, it would threaten Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's goal of vaccinating 70% of Michigan's adult population as soon as the Fourth of July. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin acknowledged the one-week decline but said the department expects the "data to change because there are sometimes lags in reporting."
The pause of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine nearly 10 days ago prompted clinics to reschedule to use the two-shot Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and that "may have slowed down administration," Sutfin said. "We continue to urge Michiganders to contact their local health department, health care provider or local pharmacy about getting the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine."
Michigan's fully vaccinated population includes 60% of all seniors 65 years and older, 35% of people aged 50 to 64, 21% of people age 40 to 49 and 18% of people age 30 to 39, according to the state's data tracker.
Now that most people older than age 65 in the state have been vaccinated, experts said the challenge is getting people vaccinated who are ignoring the shots or resisting them. At least two educational institutions are providing a monetary incentive for the potentially unmotivated.
Detroit's school district is offering $500 and 16 hours of sick time for teachers and certain other employees who can prove they have gotten or will get a COVID-19 vaccine by June 30. About 35% of the district's employees have been vaccinated, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said in a Thursday statement, but the vaccine is not mandatory.
The sick time is meant as a recovery period for those who happen to get ill after their shots, district spokeswoman Chrystal Wilson said. The incentives will be paid from federal stimulus money from last year's CARES Act, she said.
"The incentive is a way to promote the greatest protections to all employees as we work to stop the spread of COVID, while respecting the individual's choice to not vaccinate," Wilson said.
Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson offered $10 to students if they upload a photo of their vaccine card that they have received their first shot by May 7.
The $10 will be a credit added to their OneCard, a student identification card, for use with Grubhub, a food delivery service. Or students can save the $10 for when they return to campus.
There is anecdotal evidence the demand for vaccines appears to be weakening in parts of the state as eligibility has been opened to everyone older than 16.
Cranbrook Christ Church in Bloomfield Hills initially expected 500 doses from Rite Aid. But this past Saturday, it received 1,060 Pfizer doses because they were on the verge of expiring in an undisclosed location in Michigan. Church volunteers reached out to 14 other communities, including Detroit and Pontiac.
National surveys have shown that vaccine hesitancy has declined since the roll-out of the shots, but Biden administration officials said they have to make getting vaccinated easier and more appealing, particularly for younger Americans who are less at risk from the virus and do not feel the same urgency to get a shot.
While President Joe Biden on Wednesday welcomed that at least 50% of American adults had received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, he created an incentive to help the effort.
In a White House speech, Biden announced a tax credit of up to $511 a day per employee for businesses with fewer than 500 workers to provide paid leave for those getting vaccinated or potentially needing to take time off to recover from side effects. It will be paid for through the administration's $1.9 trillion virus relief package that passed last month.
The White House is urging larger employers to provide the same benefits to their workers, educate them about the shots and encourage them to get vaccinated.
Maximizing the number of Americans vaccinated is critical for the White House, which is aiming to restore a semblance of normalcy around the July Fourth holiday and even more so by the beginning of the next school year.
Ford Field experience
Ford Field's Federal Emergency Management Agency clinic administered 2,000 fewer doses last week, said Chelsea Maupin, research manager with the site.
"Statewide doses were also down last week, but that looks to be driven by the pause in the J&J vaccination vs. the interest in being vaccinated," Maupin said.
Ford Field had administered 143,600 doses through Monday. Personnel at the mass vaccine site had administered 37,371 doses during its first week of operation on March 28, 38,800 doses the second week through April 10 and nearly 36,000 during its third week through last Friday.
"For this week, statewide doses given on Monday look lower than previous weeks. Sundays and Mondays are always the lowest days of the week for vaccination," Maupin said.
Ford Field is more than five weeks into its eight-week operation and on Thursday opened 7,500 first-dose Pfizer appointments through Monday to ramp up efforts, site spokesman Mike Nowlin said.
As part of the state's contingency plan, if the Johnson & Johnson vaccine isn't available in weeks 7-8, FEMA and state officials are addressing appointments now to provide flexibility during those weeks. FEMA and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services are waiting for a final decision from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before finalizing their strategy for the final two weeks, Nowlin said.
At mass vaccination sites, Whitmer is seeking to make the experience easier by getting more workers. The Whitmer administration said Thursday more than 200 federal personnel are arriving this week to help at Ford Field, TCF Center in Detroit and DeVos Place in Grand Rapids.
Walk-in clinic opportunities
Instead of relying on reservation systems, some communities have moved to walk-in clinics.
Ingham County residents 16 years and up can get drive-up immunizations without an appointment Friday at the Michigan State University Pavilion.
"About half of the eligible population in Ingham County has been vaccinated," Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail said in a statement. "We are now trying to reach segments of the population who have barriers or hesitations around the vaccine.
"Convenience is a factor for some people, and we are trying to make it easier to get vaccinated."
Detroit also is offering walk-up clinics inside the TCF Center, Farewell Recreational Center, Northwest Activities Center, Clemente Recreation Center, the Samaritan Center as well as at Clark Park in southwest Detroit. No appointment is needed.
"Generally speaking, the volume at the walk-up locations has been slow the first several days," Detroit spokeswoman Barb Roethler said. "We expect those numbers to rise as our marketing push kicks in over the next several days, and more people become more aware of the locations and hours."
In Detroit, the number of weekly doses administered has declined since reaching a high of 31,155 doses for the week of March 15-21. It has since plunged to 22,720 doses for the week of April 12-18.
In the last week, vaccinations in Michigan's largest city have increased from 24% to 28.6% of the adult population, Roethler said. But the city still trails the vaccination rates for the rest of the region, including Macomb County, Oakland County and outer Wayne County.
UM's Malosh said officials need to further address the issue of vaccine hesitancy. Younger, healthier individuals tend to perceive a lower risk of getting COVID-19, he said, even though the fastest growth in virus cases in the past two weeks has been among younger residents.
"Some research I've done on flu vaccines has shown that recommendations from a trusted source can help overcome those types of barriers," Malosh said.
"So getting to the finish line will only get harder as those who are highly motivated are vaccinated, but sharing our stories and experiences with the vaccine can help convince others."
Twitter: @SarahRahal_
Staff Writers Christine Ferretti, Kim Kozlowski and James David Dickson, and the Associated Press contributed.
