‘Angry’ Whitmer demands to know why Michigan has only received fraction of COVID-19 vaccine doses

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer couldn’t hide her frustration Friday as she demanded to know why the state has only gotten a fraction of the COVID-19 vaccines it was supposed to receive.

“Where are our doses?” Whitmer asked during the briefing. “What is holding them up? When can we expect them? I’m angry because this virus is raging on in this country.”

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The governor admitted she’s angry about the distribution of the vaccine. Her comments came after she spoke about the death of Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon, who died last week after a battle with COVID-19.

Health care workers at the University of Michigan Hospital began receiving the first doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine Dec. 14. Since then, a second vaccine, from Moderna, has gained approval and began the distribution process.

But on Friday, Whitmer challenged the White House, demanding to know more about the doses Michigan had already planned to receive.

“I’m angry because people like me are losing this battle every single day, and I still cannot get a straight answer out of the Trump administration about why Michigan, like many other states, is receiving a fraction of the vaccines that we were slated to receive,” Whitmer said.

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She said there are millions of doses of the Pfizer vaccine waiting to be shipped, including in Portage, Michigan.

“But the feds are slow walking the process of getting the addresses to Pfizer for some reason I cannot get an answer to,” Whitmer said.

Michigan hospitals and nursing homes are prepared to start administering the vaccine, but the White House is a “bottleneck,” according to the governor.

“There is either corruption or ineptitude that is keeping us from saving lives and protecting people,” Whitmer said.

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Coronavirus resources:

• View more: Michigan COVID-19 data 📊📈
• Tracking COVID-19 vaccine doses per Michigan county
• Tracking COVID-19 weekly growth factor by Michigan county
• Tracking moving 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases in Michigan
• Tracking Michigan emergency room visits with COVID-19 symptoms
• Cases and deaths by race, ethnicity
• Tracking Michigan COVID-19 hospitalization data trends
• Michigan COVID-19 cases, deaths by sex
• Tracking Michigan’s active COVID-19 cases
• Tracking growth factor of daily new COVID-19 cases in Michigan
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