Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is ending a mandate that likely would have been in place through summer. But policing who has a vaccine and who doesn’t will likely prove impossible.
Mike Wilkinson
Mike has been a reporter for Bridge Michigan since 2013 and focuses on data-assisted reporting, often finding stories by analyzing maps and data sets and has created Bridge's dashboards on COVID-19, the state's economy and Michigan's elections. He held similar positions at The Detroit News and The Blade of Toledo. A native of Michigan, Mike grew up in Macomb County, graduated from the University of Michigan and started his reporting career in New Baltimore before his career took him to Illinois, Tennessee and Ohio. You can reach him at mwilkinson@bridgemi.com
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
$1 million lotteries and baseball for COVID shots? Not in Michigan
Other states are getting creative in efforts to get shots into the arms of the vaccine-hesitant. Michigan hasn’t done that so far, prompting debate about whether the state should do more to move the needle.
Posted inMichigan Government
Fun for Michigan governments: How to spend $11 billion in federal stimulus
The federal government this week announced final stimulus funding allocations for state and local governments. State government will get $6.5 billion, up from an earlier estimate of $5.7 billion. Michigan’s 83 counties will receive a collective $1.9 billion, and the state’s 49 largest cities will receive a combined $1.8 billion.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
COVID is fading, but racial gap in deaths is back with force in Michigan
Black residents are dying at greater rates once again in Michigan in part because they are getting vaccinated at lower rates.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan may not hit 70% vaccination rate until August, as demand falls
One week after Gov. Whitmer tied lifting remaining restrictions to the benchmark, new modeling shows the state is months away from the milestone — which could amp up pressure to change paths quicker.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Detroit offers $50 a shot to people who bring residents for COVID vaccines
There’s no limit to how often ‘good neighbors’ can be paid to bring in Detroiters for vaccines. Mayor Mike Duggan said the payments are worth it to boost the city’s woeful vaccination rates.
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan’s political geography is shifting. These interactive maps show how.
Democrat Joe Biden carried Michigan by extending his support into the suburbs to withstand a surge for Republican Donald Trump in rural parts of the state. But precinct-level data shows many exceptions, with one sliver of Detroit going for Trump and more of west Michigan favoring Biden.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
As Michigan COVID vaccine rates ebb, pop up clinics and casino cash appear
Michigan health authorities are getting creative to get more people vaccinated in a race to achieve herd immunity. That requires transition to the more difficult work of promoting vaccines in some unexpected places.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Whitmer may be right. Michigan may have turned the corner on COVID surge.
Even as hospitalizations peak and the state tops in the nation with cases, some signs indicate the worst may be over with this latest surge. What does that mean? It depends who’s asking.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Demand for vaccine declines in parts of Michigan, even as COVID surges
Three months into the vaccine rollout, appointments are going unfilled and clinics are being canceled due to lack of interest, even as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer begs Washington for more doses.
