Dr. Betty Chu, a senior vice president at Henry Ford Health System, gives a Covid shot. (Photo from hospital)
The pandemic isn't over, but waiting for protective shots is a thing of the past. Our state's vaccine stockpile is so large that "over a half-million doses [are] set to expire between now and early August," the Detroit Free Press reports.
About 250,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, at least 240,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and about 50,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine are nearing their expiration dates, said Lynn Sutfin, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
More than 4.8 million Michiganders age 16 and older — about 60.5% of the population — have received at least one dose of vaccine, according to the state's dashboard. But demand isn't like it was six months ago. ...
(Photo: Alan Stamm)
Sutfin tells reporter Christina Hall that the state plans to "redistribute vaccines to other states, as well as large pharmacy chains within Michigan."
As of last Wednesday, more than 65,700 doses were classified as wasted or spoiled, according to the health agency representative. Over 40,100 of those had expired after delivery to hospitals, counties, doctors' offices, urgent care clinics and other local providers.
