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Detroit expanding COVID-19 vaccines to city's disabled residents

Detroit Free Press - 2/11/2021

Detroit residents age 18 and older with documented intellectual or developmental disabilities and home health care providers now can get a COVID-19 vaccine, Mayor Mike Duggan announced Thursday.

Conditions covered under the new directive include Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Down syndrome, Muscular Dystrophy, Tourette's syndrome, ADHD, Spina Bifida and hearing and vision impairments.

Duggan said only three other states — Ohio, Maryland and New Mexico — offer priority vaccines to people with disabilities. During a briefing, he said he hopes the rest of Michigan will "catch up soon" because these people are some of the most vulnerable to the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The eligibility expansion builds upon Duggan's effort to vaccinate the city's most vulnerable and comes two days after he announced Detroit seniors can get vaccinated in special Saturday clinics at two of the city's largest churches.

In neighboring Macomb County, Executive Mark Hackel also is working to find ways to get more seniors vaccinated there.

He will be in Richmond on Friday to announce a new drive-thru vaccination site for seniors age 65 and older in northern Macomb County. The county health department partnered with the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation or SMART and the Richmond/Lenox EMS to open the site.

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More than 1,500 people who are part of SMART's rider database have been contacted about receiving a vaccine. SMART will provide free transportation to the site for those who are interested, according to a county release.

The Macomb County Health Department also said it is partnering with Meijer to begin administering shots to county seniors age 65 and older by giving it 2,000 doses from its vaccine allotment.

Seniors who want to get a shot at one of two unnamed locations in the county must pre-register through Meijer's text-based registration process at clinic.meijer.com.

Meijer is not releasing the locations of the clinics, but is expected to begin reaching out to registered individuals as early as next week with an appointment time and location, according to a county release.

In Detroit, disabled residents coming to get a COVID-19 vaccine will be asked to show evidence of their condition, such as doctor's note, insurance record, prescription bottle or other document when they arrive at their appointment.

Denise Fair, the city's chief public health officer, said "we have read your letters and we do recognize a strong need to protect people with disabilities, especially during COVID-19, because they are at greater risk."

Duggan said he added home health care providers who live in Detroit to care for their patients to the list of those eligible for a shot because they are in close contact. He is asking that providers make their appointments at the same time as their patients and that they arrive in the same vehicle in the TCF Center garage. Part-time care providers and those working at congregate settings have been eligible for a vaccine since Jan. 28 at the mass drive-thru clinic.

Disabled city residents can call 313-230-0505 to make an appointment. Wheelchair accessible transportation can be arranged by calling 313-208-7364 after the vaccination appointment has been scheduled.

More: COVID-19 vaccines in Michigan: What you need to know about eligibility, registration

On Tuesday, Duggan announced that vaccination clinics for residents age 65 years and older will be held Saturdays (Feb. 13, Feb. 20, Feb. 27 and March 6) at Fellowship Chapel, 7707 West Outer Drive; and at Second Ebenezer Church, 14601 Dequindre.

The clinics are to accommodate a total of 1,000 seniors each week by appointment, which can be made by calling 313-230-0505. More vaccination sites for seniors may start next week in southwest Detroit and the city's east side.

More: Detroit pushing to vaccinate seniors, holding COVID-19 vaccine clinics at churches

The city also is giving Meijer locations in Detroit 2,500 doses of vaccine to inoculate customers who are Detroit residents.

It also is providing rides to residents who need to get to the drive-thru vaccination clinic in the TCF Center garage for $2 for a roundtrip or for free if they can't pay. Wheelchair-accessible vehicles also are available for the rides.

Detroit also will receive more than $18 million in federal funding for costs related to its COVID-19 response, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security'sFederal Emergency Management Agency announced Thursday. The funding is under the federal disaster declaration of March 27.

It is advance payment to the city for eligible reimbursable costs to administer the COVID-19 vaccine at facilities throughout Detroit. The money also can be used to cover costs to obtain personal protective equipment and supplies needed to administer the vaccine.

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"This expedited grant funding will increase vaccine access across Detroit and is an important resource in the state's fight to stop the spread of the virus," said Kevin M. Sligh, acting regional administrator of FEMA'sRegion 5.

Capt. Kevin Sweeney, deputy state director of Emergency Management and commander of Michigan State Police's Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division, said the funding will help the state achieve its goal of giving a vaccine to everyone who wants one.

Duggan said he was confident the city would be reimbursed for costs to it covered up front to establish its drive-thru clinic. He said the regional director of FEMA toured Detroit's clinic and has now "reached out to us for the manual" as the clinic is easily managing giving out second shots of the Pfizer vaccine and first doses of the Moderna vaccine.

"That's now small challenge when you're moving 3,000-plus people through a day," Duggan said.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit expanding COVID-19 vaccines to city's disabled residents

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