Michigan is expanding vaccine eligibility this month to include residents age 50 to 64 and caregivers of people with disabilities.
The state has slightly more than 2 million residents in that age group, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About 13% already have been vaccinated because they qualified through their jobs as essential workers.
Michiganders 50 and older will soon be eligible for coronavirus vaccine
Groups currently eligible to be vaccinated statewide include health care workers, long-term care workers and residents, first responders, corrections workers, childcare and school staff, staff in congregate care facilities, mortuary service workers, workers in food processing and agricultural settings, and residents 65 years and older.
Here is what people need to know about the expansion.
1. Starting Monday, March, 8, eligibility expands to those age 50 to 64 with “preexisting conditions, disabilities and other medical vulnerabilities.”
That group will get a two-week head start on healthy people age 50 to 64.
In defining “disability,” the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services points to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which covers persons with a physical or mental impairment that ”substantially limits one or more major life activities,” such as eating, sleeping, standing, lifting, reading, bending, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working.
Preexisting conditions include that qualify for vaccination starting March 8:
- Asthma;
- Cancer;
- Cerebrovascular disease;
- Chronic kidney disease;
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease;
- Cystic fibrosis;
- Pulmonary fibrosis;
- Down Syndrome;
- Heart conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies;
- High blood pressure;
- Weakened immune system from transplant, HIV or use of corticosteroids or other medications that weaken the immune system;
- Liver disease;
- Neurologic conditions such as dementia;
- Obesity or overweight, defined as body mass index over 25;
- Sickle cell disease;
- Smoker;
- Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes mellitus;
- Thalassemia.
2. Also starting March 8, caregivers of people with disabilities are eligible for vaccination.
Caregiver family members and guardians age 16 years and older of children with special health-care needs may be vaccinated starting Monday.
Special health care needs include “any physical, developmental, mental, sensory, behavioral, cognitive, or emotional impairment or limiting condition that requires medical management, health care intervention, and/or use of specialized services or programs,” according to MDHHS. “The condition may be congenital, developmental, or acquired through disease, trauma, or environmental cause and may impose limitations in performing daily self-maintenance activities or substantial limitations in a major life activity.”
3. Proof of eligibility may vary depending on the vaccine provider.
MDHHS is not specifying what documentation is needed for those age 50 to 64 with preexisting conditions and those who are caregivers of special-needs children. That will be up to the vaccine provider.
“We will require proof. We hear most places will require some kind of proof,” said John Foren, a spokesman for Sparrow Health in Lansing.
Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids said they will rely on information provided on people’s registration forms. “We ask everyone to provide complete and accurate information on any underlying medical conditions that may or may not make them eligible for vaccination at this time,” said a statement from Spectrum Health.
4. On March 22, all residents 50 years and older will be eligible for a vaccine.
Starting Monday, March 22, anyone age 50 or older is eligible for a vaccine, and vaccinations also will continue for those who were previously eligible.
However, eligibility does not guarantee immediate access: At this point, demand for vaccines continue to outstrip supply. However, President Biden has stated that the United States will have produced enough vaccine for all adults by the end of May.
5. Signing up for an appointment.
Persons eligible for a vaccine are encouraged to sign up for waiting lists with their local health department as well as their local hospitals. Meijer and Rite-Aid pharmacies and Cardinal Health in the Upper Peninsula also are offering vaccines.
Here’s a link to contact information for local health departments as well as links for the sites for Meijer and Rite-Aid.
Residents who don’t have access to the internet or who need assistance navigating the vaccine scheduling process can call the COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 (press 1) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
6. COVID-19 vaccinations are provided at no cost to patients.
“You will not be charged any fees for the vaccine, regardless of whether you have health insurance coverage or not,” MDHHS says on its website. “If you do have insurance coverage, the vaccine provider may charge your insurance an administrative fee, but YOU will not have to pay anything. (If you are uninsured, this fee will come from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Provider’s Relief Fund, NOT you.)”
7. People do not get to choose which of the three vaccines they will receive.
“While supplies are scarce, it is unlikely that you will be able to choose which vaccine you receive from your medical provider,” the MDHHS website says. “You should not wait; you should take whichever vaccine is available to you. CDC does not make a preference for one vaccine over another.”
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccine require two doses. If you receive the Pfizer vaccine the second dose needs to be 21 days after the first dose, and the second dose of the Moderna vaccine needs to be 28 days after the first. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose to build the best immune response.
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