Michigan's pleas for extra vaccines will likely go unanswered

Michigan has emerged as the United States' major coronavirus hot spot, but despite a rising number of infections, it looks unlikely that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) will receive the extra COVID-19 vaccines she's requesting from the Biden administration.

While vaccines are a game-changer and the clearest ticket out of the pandemic for the U.S., their protection likely wouldn't take effect in time to quell Michigan's current surge, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky suggested Monday during a press briefing. "I think if we tried to vaccinate our way out of what is happening in Michigan, we would be disappointed that it took so long for the vaccine to work," she said.

Walensky added that other places that are not in Michigan's situation currently could trend that way if they miss out on their doses, so changing up the federal distribution to react in real time to an "acute" situation could potentially backfire. At the moment, the director said, the best course of action for Michigan is to "go back to our basics" and "really close things down."

Still, Whitmer will reportedly put in another formal request for more doses later in the day.

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