Michigan Health Watch

Restrictions due to expire on Friday may have helped Michigan avoid a surge in coronavirus that swept the nation, but its unemployment rate is higher than most states.

Despite recent reforms that shield patients from unexpected bills they thought were covered by insurance, ground ambulance services can still charge high fees if they are outside a patient’s insurance network. A lawmaker promises to look into the matter.

Henry Ford Health System and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan touted the study in April as a possible game-changer in protecting first responders from the deadly virus. But low participation and criticism of the health system’s research doomed the effort, which was ended before Christmas.

Chronicling a pandemic is a reminder of our shared resilience and what we can achieve in laboratories, at bedsides, in classrooms and at kitchen tables. While 2020 was awful, let’s remember what we’ve gained amid the loss.

Unclear data and messaging, a lurching supply chain and a growing chorus of finger-pointing dogs the state’s early vaccine plan as people over 65 seek protection against COVID-19.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state health officials note a rise in cases and positivity rates, and worry about a new variant of the coronavirus as well as a possible post-holiday spike.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer defended the state’s uneven vaccine distribution program. The expanded list of people who can get vaccines starting next week includes police, teachers and others more at risk.

Some frontline health care workers and first responders are reluctant to take the vaccine, contributing to Michigan having one of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the nation.

In a year like none other, 2020 was in many ways defined by a relentless pandemic that touched every element of life and killed thousands of Michiganders.

Coronavirus killed nearly as many as strokes, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes combined in Michigan this year. Heart disease and cancer are the top two causes of death.