DETROIT – The effort to get to get Michiganders vaccinated picks up steam Monday when hundreds of thousands of people will become eligible to get their shot.
READ: Michigan COVID vaccine eligibility expands Monday: What to know
Starting Monday, those 50 and older and those 16 and older with preexisting conditions or disabilities will be eligible to get vaccinated everywhere in the state -- increasing the eligibility by more than half a million people.
That eligibility coming as companies like Meijer, Kroger and d let people sign up for vaccines. CVS announced Thursday it would start vaccinating too.
Michigan has vaccinated a little more than 15% of the state’s population -- more than 1.2 million people have been fully vaccinated and more than 2 million people have gotten their first dose.
The vaccination rollout at TCF Center has become the epicenter of ending the COVID-19 epidemic in Detroit. It’s become a model for getting thousands of doses into arms.
Mayor Mike Duggan said city’s success in testing translated to the vaccine rollout in true Detroit fashion.
“In Detroit, assembly lines are in our DNA,” Duggan said. “We set up the biggest and most effective drive thru testing site in the Midwest.”
Starting Wednesday, Ford Field officially opens as the federally sponsored regional hub. FEMA said it’s hoping to get more than 6,000 people vaccinated every day for two months straight, hoping to fight a potential fourth surge of the virus as the state works to speed toward herd immunity.
READ: ‘Hope is on the horizon,’ -- Ford Field begins scheduling COVID vaccinations
About 124 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in the United States. The country is averaging 2.4 million doses daily.
More info: Local 4′s Dr. Frank McGeorge answers COVID vaccine question