A new exhibit at U-M's Museum of Natural History tells personal stories of Washtenaw County residents to demonstrate the disparities of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michigan Medicine's Gifts of Art recognized by the National Organization of Arts in Health.

A2STEAM families were notified this morning that school would be going remote.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is supporting a proposed bonus payment for essential employees who worked throughout the COVID pandemic.

Lab technicians are often an unseen force in the fight against COVID-19.

Country musician Mac Watts is originally from the Detroit area, but now he’s making a name for himself recording in Nashville. He says the song was written a while back and that it honors the work of essential workers during the pandemic. “It’s unfortunate that it came to a pandemic to create a song like this,” Watts said. Watts also has several solo projects in the works and plans to release one new song every month this year. To see the Superhero lyric video and for more on where you can find Watts’ music watch the video above.

YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Washtenaw County Health Department will begin scheduling for the next phase of vaccinations beginning on Monday. Until now, the Health Department has been actively vaccinating health care workers that fall under Phase 1A. Local health departments were authorized this week by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to begin inoculating the following groups starting Monday:People age 65 years or older. “In Washtenaw County, this represents thousands of newly eligible individuals,” read a news release from the Health Department. The Health Department cautions that appointments may be scheduled weeks away depending on vaccine supply and overall capacity.

Boxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be shipped at the McKesson distribution center in Olive Branch on December 20, 2020 in Olive Branch, Mississippi. (Photo by Paul Sancya - Pool/Getty Images)DETROIT – Frontline essential workers and people over 75 will be next to receive COVID-19 vaccines, according to a vote from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee Sunday. RELATED: CDC green-lights Moderna COVID vaccine, distribution beginsCurrently, Phase 1B includes some workers in essential and critical industries, including workers with unique skill sets such as non-hospital or non-public health laboratories and mortuary services. As the largest union for America’s essential workers in grocery, meatpacking, and food processing, UFCW applauds the CDC’s advisory committee for prioritizing these brave men and women for access to the COVID-19 vaccine. Protecting our country’s food workers is essential to keeping our communities safe and stopping future outbreaks in these high-exposure workplaces.

YPSILANTI, Mich. – Staff at Washtenaw County Health Department received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Friday. “I’m so excited to be vaccinated, and I don’t have to wait because it’s my job to vaccinate others,” said Christina Zilke, registered nurse and nursing supervisor with Washtenaw County Health Department in a release. The Health Department received an initial supply of 1,950 doses of the Pfizer Inc./BioNTech vaccine. READ: First Michigan Medicine employees receive COVID-19 vaccineNurse practitioner Cathy Wilczynski vaccinates Washtenaw County Health Department medical director Juan Marquez (left) and emergency preparedness administrator Cindra James (right). (Washtenaw County Health Department)“We’re feeling both grateful and optimistic as we begin this vaccination process,” said Jimena Loveluck, MSW, health officer for Washtenaw County in the release.

A healthcare worker at St. Joe's Ann Arbor holds up a sticker that says "I Got Vaccinated" as COVID-19 vaccinations get underway. ANN ARBOR – The first shipment of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrived at four hospitals within the Mercy Health and Saint Joseph Mercy Health System on Thursday, including St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland and Mercy Health Saint Mary’s in Grand Rapids and Mercy Health Muskegon. Mercy Health Muskegon received 1,950 doses while the other three hospitals received 975. All hospitals within Trinity Health Michigan have ultra-cold freezers capable of storing the vaccines. For more information about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit www.stjoeshealth.org/vaccine.

ANN ARBOR – Michigan Medicine began vaccinating its frontline workers against COVID-19 on Monday, with an initial group of five employees. MORE: University of Michigan Hospital workers show what ‘reconstituting’ COVID vaccine meansOn Monday morning, Michigan Medicine received an initial shipment of 1,950 of the Pfizer Inc./BioNTech vaccine. Roughly 40 Michigan Medicine employees are expected to be vaccinated starting Tuesday with vaccinations increasing next week, depending on supply. The first five employees at Michigan Medicine to receive the COVID-19 vaccine pose for a photo on Dec. 14, 2020. These groups will be determined by Michigan Medicine’s COVID-19 Vaccine & Therapeutics Taskforce which is following recommendations from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

PORTAGE, Mich. – With the shipments of the Pfizer vaccine out of Portage on the way, Michigan’s essential workers -- especially those in the food industry -- are hoping they will be next in line after medical workers to be vaccinated. For months, workers in grocery stores and the food industry have been subjected to some of the worst outbreaks during the pandemic. essential workers are urging they should be next -- as stores continue to fill with holiday shoppers. Michigan’s covid outbreak tracker shows the food industry and retail shops account for nearly 40 current outbreaks statewide. They are still part of the first wave with hundreds of thousands of other workers in essential industries all looking to get vaccinated.

ANN ARBOR – The Michigan Marching Band performed the first digital show in its 123-year history on Saturday ahead of the Wolverines’ football game against Penn State. The band performed a variety of songs, including “Help!” by The Beatles, “Don’t Back Down” by Bruce Springsteen and “Amazing Grace.”Familiar voice and longtime Michigan Marching Band announcer Carl Grapentine appears throughout the performance. “I want to join the Michigan Marching band in thanking members of our medical community,” said Howard in the video. From musicians to flag team members, to cheerleaders and baton twirlers, the video features scores of the band’s members performing from their dorm rooms, permanent residences, front yards and on the band’s practicing grounds at Elbel Field. And it wouldn’t be a Michigan Band show if the drum major didn’t do that famous backbend on the field at the Big House.

ANN ARBOR – Michigan Medicine has partnered with about 100 of the country’s top health care systems urging Americans to mask up as COVID-19 cases reach record-breaking highs. Over the past two weeks, more than 900 medical workers at Mayo Clinic tested positive for COVID-19. The message reads:“As the top nationally-ranked hospitals, we know it’s tough that we all need to do our part and keep wearing masks. However now is exactly the wrong time to let up,” Marschall S. Runge, CEO of Michigan Medicine and dean of the U-M Medical School said in a statement. “But for now, we have to use the tools that we know work: wearing masks, staying socially distant and washing hands.

ANN ARBOR – Michigan Medicine announced Monday it has added visitor restrictions at its hospitals and clinics to curb the spread of COVID-19 and to protect patients and staff. Visitors, including family, are required to wear a face covering that covers their nose and mouth at all Michigan Medicine properties, including inside a patient’s room. No visitors will be allowed in clinics for adult patients unless the patient has a physical or cognitive impairment that requires assistance. We hope that by adding these restrictions, we will better protect everyone from COVID-19,” Washer continued. “Limiting visitors and requiring a mask at all times will help reduce the spread of infection.”Related reading:

ANN ARBOR – Starting Wednesday, the Washtenaw County government will be closing its non-essential services in compliance with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' order that all offices that have the ability to work remotely should do so for a period of three weeks in order to curb the spread of COVID-19. “We are still in the midst of a global pandemic," Washtenaw County Administrator Gregory Dill said in a message to county staff on Monday. “Washtenaw County is following the lead of our governor and of our state and local health departments," Jason Morgan, Chair of the Board of Commissioners said in a statement. When we all work together, Washtenaw County wins. Not forever, but for now, so that we can help reduce the upward trend of positive Covid-19 cases in our county, in Michigan and all over the country.”Related reading:

WESTLAND, Mich. – A group of nursing home workers will walk off the job Monday morning over their working conditions in the pandemic. Essential nursing home workers at Four Seasons Rehabilitation and Nursing home, located on Newburgh Road in Westland, had agreed in August to delay their planned strike by 30 days after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer urged SEIU Healthcare Michigan and nursing home chains to negotiate toward a fair contract. RELATED: Wayne County COVID-19 data: Tracking cases, deaths; City-by-city breakdownThey said that they are treated like they’re dispensable and will now walk off the job Monday at 6 a.m., kicking off their strike over unfair labor practices. They said they’re arguing for more PPE, better pay and more staff to help take care of patients.

ANN ARBOR – A new study at the University of Michigan hopes to learn how much protection is afforded by natural infection with the coronavirus. Researchers leading the Immunity Associated with SARS-CoV-2 study are looking to enroll 5,000 U-M employees, including essential workers, first responders and those who work regularly on campus. The study hopes to examine the immunological response and risk factors to infection. “Maybe you can get infected again, but you don’t really get sick and you don’t shed virus. Results will be sent to participants throughout the study since it will use U-M pathology labs for the majority of serological testing.

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. Audrey B. has spent nine of her 23 years on earth working at Hollywood Market in Rochester Hills. Shes sort of a jack or maybe a jill-of-all-trades at the store and has always been a solid worker. Before I left, I had one more question for her, whats up with the toilet paper hoarding? What is one thing, that if I never got to go to the store again - I couldnt live without it. You cant really make toilet paper. Toilet paper is not one of them.Toilet paper is not one of them and neither is human interaction.

DETROIT – The Selfridge Air National Guard Base will conduct a flyover in Metro Detroit on Wednesday afternoon, one day after the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. Residents should view the flyover from their homes and are asked not to travel to see the flyover. Selfridge Air National Guard flyover map. (Selfridge Air National Guard Base.) ALSO SEE: VIDEO: Blue Angels fly over Metro Detroit amid coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

A local family has found a creative way to help support essential workers -- and squirrels. Find out more about The Squirrel Project here. (Watch the story in the video player above)