Michigan Health Watch

A new, faster-moving variant worries health officials and means more people need to become immune to stop it. But the state’s history on vaccines plus a shortage of doses doesn’t bode well for meeting that goal anytime soon.

The decision, which will be finalized in the next few days, comes as coronavirus cases decline throughout Michigan. State officials say the ban on indoor dining helped drive down rates. Others aren’t so sure.

Michigan officials blame a reporting lag for vaccine undercounts as federal officials warn that states with poor performance will get fewer doses when reserves are released.

Identifying new variants of COVID is a high-tech, genetic search for a “needle in a haystack,” with just two labs doing the work in a state with thousands of new coronavirus samples each day. But while Michigan studies only a small sliver of testing specimens, it’s doing better than other states.

 A week after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced people 65 and older would be eligible for a vaccine, health department websites and other government offices are being flooded by residents trying to get registered.

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.