DETROIT – Mayor Mike Duggan spoke Sunday about how a coronavirus vaccine will be rolled out in Michigan’s largest city.
He said he is making sure every Detroiter gets the vaccine will be harder than making sure there’s enough tests for everyone.
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Duggan said distributing a vaccine is an enormous challenge.
“The magnitude of what we’re talking about, this country has never experienced,” Duggan said. “We’re looking now at the reality that when we were testing 1,200 people a day, it was a major undertaking. To get the vaccinations out, we’re going to have to vaccinate 5,000 Detroiters a day.”
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TCF Center was used as a makeshift hospital in the early months of the pandemic and it will now be a part of the city’s vaccination plan.
Duggan said he will follow guidance from the federal government on who should be first to get vaccinated.
Health officials believe Michigan could receive hundreds of thousands of doses of the Pfizer vaccine before the end of the year if the FDA gives emergency use authorization next month.
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Duggan said it will still take a while to get the city fully vaccinated.
“You think about the city of Detroit, with 700,000 people, if you were able to vaccinate 5,000 a day, it still will take three or four months.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will hold an emergency meeting Tuesday to vote on who they will recommend should get a vaccine first.
CDC panel meets Tuesday to vote on COVID-19 vaccine priority
A panel of U.S. advisers will meet Tuesday to vote on how scarce, initial supplies of a COVID-19 vaccine will be given out once one has been approved.
Experts have proposed giving the vaccine to health workers first. High priority also may be given to workers in essential industries, people with certain medical conditions and people age 65 and older.