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Morning Briefing March 31, 2021: Concerns grow as more younger Michigan adults are in hospital ICUs with COVID, state has new vaccination goal of 100,000 doses a day

Here are this morning’s top stories

Concerns grow as more younger adults are in ICU

“We have about a quarter of the patients who are hospitalized at our main hospital actually in the intensive care unit (ICU) right now,” said Dr. Geneva Tatem.

Tatem is a critical care specialist in the ICU at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

“We’ve seen a shift to a little bit younger age group. They’re about 5 years or so younger than we’ve seen in the past,” said Tatem.

Michigan’s data shows hospitalizations have taken a sharp increase with a growth rate that is more severe than the increase we saw during the winter surge.

Read more here.


New COVID vaccination goal of 100,000 doses per day

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Wednesday a new COVID-19 vaccination goal of 100,000 doses per day, up from the previous goal of 50,000 doses per day.

Michigan has reported more than 4.2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered, as of Tuesday, with 32% of residents having received at least one dose.

The state has been reaching its 50,000 daily doses goal for about a month now. For 38 days, the state has met or exceeded its original goal of administering 50,000 vaccinations per day, Whitmer’s office said.

The governor has a goal to vaccinate at least 70% of Michiganders ages 16 and up.

More: Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine protects younger teens


Looking for COVID-19 vaccines

We’re gathering information on COVID-19 vaccination efforts across Metro Detroit as more and more people become eligible across the state.

We’re keeping an eye on any updates on appointments, openings, clinics or new vaccination sites in the area.

For links to local health departments, hospital systems and more, click here.


For fun: Detroit Tigers Top Moments Bracket

The Tigers open the 2021 season April 1 at Comerica Park, so we decided to look back at some of the greatest moments since the team first moved to the park in 2000.

For the first few years, the Tigers were very bad. Then, the 2006 team was one of the most lovable in memory, and kicked off a decade of great baseball. Now, the team is trying to find its way back to that level.

You’ll find 32 of the top moments since 2000. Obviously, the list is dominated by 2006-2014, but some others are also mixed in. Vote for your favorite in each matchup, and the moments with the most votes will advance to the round of 16. There will be five rounds, in total.

Start here.


Weather: Rainy start with cooler conditions


Coronavirus in Michigan 💉

The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 665,948 as of Tuesday, including 16,082 deaths, state officials report.

Tuesday’s update includes a total of 5,177 new cases and 48 additional deaths, of which 20 are from a Vital Records review. On Monday, the state reported 660,771 total cases and 16,034 deaths.

Testing has been steady around 35,000 diagnostic tests reported per day on average, with the 7-day positive rate above 12% as of Monday, the highest since early December. The state has reported an up-tick in Hospitalizations over the last several weeks.

Related: MHA: Younger age groups driving rise in Michigan COVID-19 hospitalizations

Michigan’s 7-day moving average for daily cases was 4,680 on Tuesday -- the highest since December. The 7-day death average was 17 on Monday and has been flat for several weeks. The state’s fatality rate is 2.5%. The state also reports “active cases,” which were listed at 75,300 on Monday. More than 569,000 have recovered in Michigan.

Michigan has reported more than 4.1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered, as of Monday, with 32% of residents having received at least one dose.

Here’s a look at more of the data:


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