Great Lakes Wire

As Michigan officials are receiving the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines, only 56 hospitals and 16 health departments are set to receive the first batches from Pfizer-BioNTech.

The vaccines, which were sent out beginning Dec. 15, will only be a small portion of what the state hopes to receive by the end of next year, Bridge Michigan reported. The Pfizer vaccine was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Dec. 11, and it is expected that the Massachusetts-made Moderna vaccine will be approved soon as well.

Dr. Adnan Munkarah said the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit is one health department set to receive at least 4,875 units of the first batch of vaccines this week, Bridge Michigan reported. Five hospitals in the health system will be receiving at least 975 units of the vaccine each. Three weeks after receiving the first batch, the hospitals will receive a second batch, according to Munkarah.

While Michigan is preparing to distribute batches of the vaccine, it won't be mandatory for Michiganders to receive it. 

Beaumont Hospital in Troy will also be receiving a shipment of coronavirus vaccines, Bridge Michigan reported. The hospital is expecting approximately 1,000 units, hospital spokesman Mark Geary told Bridge Michigan. 

The first batches of coronavirus vaccines will be distributed to three groups of people. "First: paid and unpaid people in health care settings and residents of long-term care facilities," according to Bridge Michigan. Second will be essential workers in critical industries. Third to receive the vaccine is those at high risk for severe COVID-19 illness and the elderly.

Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan's chief medical executive, said this plan on how to distribute the vaccines will depend on the quantity of vaccines the state receives. 

“The situation is continuously evolving,” she told Bridge Michigan.