MARQUETTE — The COVID-19 vaccination process throughout the Upper Peninsula is anticipated to begin next week, the Marquette County Health Department reported.

MCHD officials acknowledged it will be a large undertaking with multiple partners.

The initial allotment will be the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, to be followed by the Moderna vaccine, which the AP reported that a panel of outside experts is expected to recommend on Thursday, with the FDA’s green light coming soon thereafter.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is approved for individuals age 16 and over, and initial allotments will be designated for those in the highest priority group as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: health care personnel, emergency medical services, and skilled nursing facilities staff and residents.

After the vaccine arrives in the U.P., facilities receiving the allotments will begin vaccinating those in the highest priority group listed above.

Pharmacies, including CVS and Walgreens, have been contracted to vaccinate staff and residents of long-term care facilities and will directly receive COVID-19 vaccine allotments. Allotments of the vaccine will also be distributed directly to Indian Health Services, which will vaccinate tribal members, and to prisons to be administered to their staff and inmates. Allotments also will sent to the federal-qualified health clinics.

The MCHD indicated the U.P. should receive additional vaccines on a weekly basis. As supply and demand allows, the vaccination process will continue. Vaccine availability will be limited to the highest risk individuals in the first several months.

It is expected that vaccine will be available to the general public during the spring, officials said.

Online risk tool created

A new online tool has been created to help people assess their risk amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Aging & Adult Services Agency at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced the launch of CV19 CheckUp in Michigan — a free, anonymous, personalized online tool that evaluates someone’s risks associated with COVID-19

The service is in partnership with BellAge Inc. and can be accessed at Michigan.CV19Checkup.org.

“This tool, which we will make available to all Michiganders, helps individuals understand their risk based on their life situation and personal behavior, and offers recommendations to reduce those risks while also connecting people to services if needed,” said Dr. Alexis Travis, senior deputy director of the Aging & Adult Services Agency, in a statement. “And while this tool is available to all residents, it is specifically designed with older adults — age 60 and over — in mind.”

It noted older Michiganders represent 24% of confirmed COVID-19 cases and 89% of confirmed deaths.

“We are dedicated to keeping aging adults safe and healthy and believe this tool will help older adults stay safer and healthier as cases continue to grow,” Travis said.

BellAge developed the tool to help people be safer and healthier, and ensure their individual needs are met during the pandemic, MDHHS said.

CV19 CheckUp uses artificial intelligence to analyze data each person provides by completing an online questionnaire. It is designed for those who are considered high risk, including older adults, low-income people, ethnic and racial minorities, and LGBTQ communities.

The tool’s algorithms are driven by science and medicine, using data from the CDC and the World Health Organization. It is anonymous and does not require a name, email address or identifier of any type.

Upon completion of the anonymous questionnaire, CV19 CheckUp immediately delivers a personalized report. The report answers questions such as:

≤ How likely am I to get COVID-19 or spread it to others?

≤ If I get COVID-19, how severe would it likely be?

≤ Where can I find help to ensure my needs are met during the pandemic?

“CV19 CheckUp was developed to fill an urgent public need,” said Jim Firman, chief innovation officer of BellAge Inc., in a statement “Our team realized that although there are many resources with information about the virus, all of them require a lot of effort by the user. The average person has to spend considerable time on numerous websites, digging through pages of information looking for answers that are relevant to their specific situation.

“CV19 CheckUp does the work for them. We developed a hyper-personalized tool that makes it easy for anyone to understand their level of risk and take steps to reduce those risks.”

In addition, through CV19 CheckUp, governments and health organizations also receive data that helps facilitate developing methods to target populations that are at high risk for COVID-19. Findings can be used to gain insights on what people know and believe about the pandemic; compliance levels with recommended safety protocols; behaviors by location, race, ethnicity, economic status, etc.; and unmet needs for health care, social services and financial support.

This project is funded in part by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

‘Mask Up, Mask Right’

MDHHS is launching an initiative to not only get Michiganders to mask up, but to mask correctly.

“The science is now settled: Masks protect others from COVID — and they protect the wearer,” said MDHHS Director Robert Gordon in a statement. “It’s important to wear the right mask and wear it the right way. We want all Michiganders to ‘Mask Up, Mask Right’ as we continue to battle the virus in our state.”

Masking right involves wearing one of three options of masks that provide stronger protection: three-layered washable cloth face coverings, medical-grade disposable masks or approved KN95 masks. It also includes wearing the approved mask correctly and having it secured over the nose and face, tightly fitting without gaps.

The CDC has recommended the use of masks to protect the community by reducing emission of the virus and to protect the wearer by reducing inhalation. CDC cites a number of studies showing that masks have been effective.

For example, one study showed that use of masks onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt was associated with a 70% reduced risk of COVID-19; another showed that, in a contact tracing investigation, those who reported wearing masks had a 70% lower risk of infection than those who did not.

Published research by Beaumont Hospital in southeast Michigan also showed that mask wearing was associated with lower levels of infection by COVID-19 and, among those infected, lower levels of symptoms.

The MDHHS stressed that bandanas, gaiters and face shields without masks do not provide adequate protection for the wearer or others and are not recommended.

Residents in need of masks can pick them up from partner sites across the state, which includes most MDHHS local offices and community action agencies. Find a distribution site at Michigan.gov/MaskUpMichigan or call the COVID-19 hotline at 888-535-6136.

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