Following the Food and Drug Administration’s approval earlier this week of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for those ages 18 and up, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is renewing its call to Michiganders to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
“We now have two fully FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines that have saved millions of lives throughout the pandemic,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health at MDHHS, in a statement.
“For Michiganders who have been waiting for this approval, now is the time to get the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine and join the nearly 6.5 million Michigan residents who have already received their first dose. The vaccine remains our best defense against the virus as we continue to face omicron and any future variants.”
MDHHS urges Michiganders to complete the primary series of COVID-19 vaccinations and then get a booster dose once they are eligible to ensure they are up to date with their protection against the virus. More information is available at Michigan.gov/COVIDVaccine.
The Moderna vaccine, now known as Spikevax, was the second COVID-19 vaccine to be distributed in December 2020 and has shown to be better than 93% effective against the virus that causes COVID-19 and 98% effective in preventing severe disease, MDHHS said.
To date, more than 5.3 million primary and booster doses of the Moderna vaccine have been administered in Michigan and more than 65% of Michiganders ages 5 and older have gotten at least their first dose of one of the vaccines, according to MDHHS.
The agency reported that from Jan. 15, 2021, to Jan. 14, 2022, unvaccinated Michiganders accounted for 77.6% of COVID cases, 85% of hospitalizations and 83% of deaths.
Flu shot urged
Health officials recommend that Michiganders get their flu shot amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Lansing-based Resch Strategies.
Flu season historically peaks in February, and the stakes are especially high this year, with documented cases of “flurona” — a co-infection of the flu and COVID-19 at the same time, according to a news release from Resch Strategies. People of all ages can become severely ill and even die from flu infection, it said, but everyone 6 months or older is eligible to receive the flu vaccine.
Zachary Yaksich of downstate West Bloomfield founded Alana’s Foundation to create awareness about flu vaccination after he lost his daughter Alana to the flu at age 5.
“I never knew the flu could kill children until Alana died,” said Yaksich. “Our family will never be the same and we miss Alana every single day. We only hope others do everything they can to protect their children from the flu. Get immunized. Get your kids immunized. Flu shots save lives.”
Dr. Tina Tanner, a primary care physician and medical director at Mercy Health for Muskegon and North Ottawa counties, detailed her experiences this flu season, including patient concerns about COVID-19 and the flu circulating at the same time.
“As we see declining vaccine rates for the flu, we want people to know it’s not too late to get vaccinated, as cases tend to be highest in February,” Tanner said. “Last year’s flu season was largely mitigated by people being mostly at home, but now many people are back in the workplace and kids are back in school and daycare.
“To prevent the worst-case scenario of a flu outbreak on top of the COVID pandemic, our flu vaccination rate must rise swiftly.”
Erin Sudheimer, a cardiothoracic resource nurse clinician at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, noted the flu infection rate is above baseline and the state is far short of its goal to vaccinate 4 million residents against the seasonal flu.
The state of Michigan set a goal of 4 million flu vaccinations this season. As of this week, just over 3 million doses have been administered — nearing 77% of the goal, according to the news release.
To find a flu shot near you, visit bit.ly/3ISHHqr.
Increase in oxygen patients noted
The Aspirus Home Medical Equipment team has seen a steep increase in patients requiring home oxygen therapy, said Aspirus Health, based in Wausau, Wisconsin.
AHME averaged about 20 new oxygen patients per month before the COVID-19 pandemic. Aspirus Health said. That number rose to around 40 new oxygen patients per month early in the pandemic and spiked to 172 new oxygen patients in January.
“Pre-pandemic to today, we’re seeing nine times greater utilization of our oxygen concentrators,” said Cindy Rider, Aspirus vice president of post-acute care, in a statement. “We also have noticed that 81 percent of those utilizing (home oxygen therapy) are unvaccinated.”
Breathing issues after COVID-19 are one of the known long-term effects of coronavirus infection, Aspirus Health said. Recent studies show that being vaccinated against COVID-19 can help prevent someone from suffering from its long-term effects.
“Some of these people could have avoided this long-term or exacerbation of their diagnosis by being vaccinated,” Rider said. “It’s not easy going to the grocery store with an oxygen tank.”
Aspirus Health reported that home care service needs have drastically increased over the past two years. Overall volumes at Aspirus increased from a daily census of around 500 to an average of 800 during the pandemic.
The higher use of home health services has helped keep more people out of hospitals and allow them to recover at home, it said.
“Some of those patients that had a milder version of COVID or a milder illness were able to come home with our support, which historically they might have stayed in the hospital for a day or two more,” Rider said.
Aspirus Health indicated that vaccination is still the best way for people to protect themselves and others from COVID-19 and potentially having to use services for long-term health side effects from the disease.