Dr. Joneigh S. Khaldun, chief medical officer (Photo: State of Michigan)
Michigan is planning to rely on a dedicated website, health departments and media outreach to alert residents when it's their turn to get the Covid-19 vaccine, prompting concern from at least one health expert who worries the approach may leave some people behind.
According The Detroit News, the state eventually will direct people to two websites for information: www.michigan.gov/covidvaccine, which will say which segments of the population are eligible, and VaccineFinder.org, which will list locations administering shots.
For now, with the vaccine available to only health care workers and nursing home residents, the state health department says it and local health departments are reaching out to specific populations. Eventually, advertising across television, print and digital will direct people to the state website, and health care providers will reach out to eligible individuals.
By contrast, The News reports, the United Kingdom alerts each citizen of when they're eligible for the vaccine by mail.
"A lot of people could be left out because they don’t have a proper notification," said Tingong Dai, a Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School associate professor and expert on medical supply chain issues.
State health officials expect the vaccine to be available to the general public by summer.
The state has so far administered a little over a quarter of the vaccine doses it received.
