Michigan’s top doctor said the state is planning to increase COVID-19 vaccine access for the hardest hit communities.
MDHHS Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun spoke at a virtual town hall Wednesday evening, addressing vaccine skepticism in the Black community. She announced that the state will be allocating vaccines based on the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index.
“It's basically a factor that brings in things like race, language, disability status, income, educational attainment, and we use that factor to allocate doses across the state," she said.
Khaldun said the state will be partnering with community health centers to open up vaccination clinics.
“We want to reach people who maybe have not seen a primary care doctor in the past 20 years, or ever, and if they want a vaccine, we want them to have access to the vaccine," she explained.
Khaldun said allocating vaccines to those dispropriantely affected by COVID-19 in Michigan means prioritizing communities of color, immunocompromised individuals and those experiencing poverty. In Michigan, Black and Latinx communities have been disproportinately affected by the pandemic.