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MARQUETTE — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has announced a new tool for Michigan residents and health care providers to help locate COVID-19 treatments across the state.

The link can be found at bit.ly/3vCDOCi.

Users may search it to find sites and locations that have therapeutic options available, including monoclonal antibodies, oral antivirals and Evusheld, a preventative treatment for those who are moderately to severely immunocompromised.

The site provides phone numbers, operating hours and information about which therapeutics are available. It also contains articles such as “People Are Saying COVID Could Become ‘Endemic’ But What Does That Mean?” and “COVID Etiquette Tips: How to Plan Stress-free Springtime Gatherings.”

“We are continuously striving to make COVID-19 treatments accessible to Michiganders,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, MDHHS chief medical executive, in a statement. “This new feature removes barriers in accessing treatment by helping those in need of therapeutics easily find locations and the availability most convenient to them. We will continue to make improvements in accessing tools that help prevent and treat COVID-19.”

Retail chain pharmacies that have oral antivirals in stock include Meijer, Walgreens, Rite-Aid and CVS, in addition to select independent pharmacy locations. It is important to contact your health care provider as you must present a prescription from a physician or advanced practice clinician to pick up medication at the pharmacy, MDHHS said.

All individuals who test positive for COVID-19 should talk to their doctor to see if they are eligible to receive one of the COVID therapeutics. MDHHS urged people to not delay since treatment must be started early to be effective.

For more information on therapeutics, visit Michigan.gov/CoronavirusResources.

NMU issues COVID numbers

As of Thursday, there were 291 total COVID-19 cases at Northern Michigan University for the winter semester, according to the NMU COVID-19 Dashboard at https://nmu.edu/safe-on-campus/dashboard.

There were 137 total cases for the fall semester.

The dashboard will not be updated during the summer semester.

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.