A band plays at a past Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival. Organizers have announced the 2021 edition of the event has been moved to 2022 due to the continuing pandemic. (Journal file photo)

MARQUETTE — The Marquette County Health Department was notified on Tuesday that genetic testing confirmed that the B.1.1.7 variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 was detected in a positive case within Marquette County.

Dr. Bob Lorinser, health department medical director, noted the case represented the first time the variant has been found in the Upper Peninsula.

The variant is concerning because it is associated with increased transmissibility, the MCHD said. Compared with the standard SARS-CoV-2 virus, the B.1.1.7 variant is about 50% more transmissible, which leads to a faster spread of the virus and potentially increasing numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Therefore, the MCHD said additional public health efforts are required once the variant has been identified to slow community spread.

The MCHD stressed the use of social distancing, mask use, hand hygiene and other mitigation strategies, plus it urged people to get vaccinated. Vaccination registration now is available to any individual age 16 or over.

Anyone interested in receiving a vaccination may register through the link provided at www.mqthealth.org.

Once vaccines are available, an email will be sent to the address provided on the registration form. The email will contain a unique link allowing the individual to select an appointment time. The link will work only for the registered individual and can be used only once.

Emails will be sent this week for appointments on Thursday and Saturday.

Marquette clinic

set for Monday

In the first of several planned COVID-19 veteran vaccination clinics around Michigan, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs will vaccinate veterans and their spouses and caregivers on Monday in Marquette.

All vaccine recipients must be 50 or older.

The vaccination clinics are a partnership between the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency and the Michigan National Guard, which both fall under the state DMVA.

“Providing our veterans the high-quality care and benefits they deserve is essential,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. “I am grateful for the DMVA, MVAA and Michigan National Guard’s tireless efforts to open vaccination clinics statewide so we can ensure that Michigan’s veterans and their spouses and caregivers are able to receive one of the three safe, effective COVID-19 vaccines as soon as possible at no cost.”

The Monday vaccination clinic will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Northern Michigan University’s Northern Center. The second vaccine will be given April 19 at the same location.

Vaccines will be available free of charge for those who register in advance for a time slot by calling 800-642-4838 and choosing option 6. Registration is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

“Our veterans are very deserving of the benefits and services they earned while on duty,” Marquette Mayor Jenna Smith said in a statement. “Now it is our turn to take care of veterans, their spouses and caregivers by offering them an opportunity for the COVID-19 vaccine. Thank you to the state of Michigan, the Department of Military and Veteran Affairs, the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency, the Michigan National Guard and Northern Michigan University for your efforts to coordinate this vaccination clinic in Marquette.”

Establishing vaccination clinics for Michigan veterans has been a high priority for the DMVA since the COVID-19 vaccination first became available, said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul Rogers, adjutant general and director of the DMVA, in a statement.

“We believe anyone who has worn the uniform of our nation is a ‘member for life,’ so high-quality care and benefits for our veterans could not be more meaningful to us as we continually seek to honor and serve those who have served before us,” Rogers said.

Registrants should bring a picture ID to the clinic. Veterans are also encouraged to bring their DD-214 proof of service because representatives will be on hand to help them sign up for VA health care and other benefits.

“Ensuring that our veterans are protected is one of our most critical missions at the MVAA,” MVAA Director Zaneta Adams said in a statement. “These brave men and women put their lives on the line to protect us and now it’s our turn to protect them. These vaccination clinics are a major, positive step in helping our veterans and the entire state to start moving forward.”

The MVAA is working on scheduling veteran vaccination clinics at other locations around Michigan.

Hiawatha festival postponed

The 42nd Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival has been postponed to July 22-24, 2022.

The Hiawatha Music Co-Op announced Monday on Facebook that the board of directors said the “uncertainty of health, financial and safety factors” led to the “difficult conclusion.”

“We know this is going to be a big disappointment to everyone,” the Facebook post reads.

The board said it is working on an alternative to the festival, possibly a week of virtual music, styled after the actual festival.

“We hope to have those plans in place soon,” it said. “It is important to us to continue to bring traditional music to our friends and families and support our musicians.”

Legislation would help vets

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Hills, has co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to expand free COVID-19 vaccine access to veterans and their families.

The SAVE LIVES Act would specifically permit the Department of Veterans Affairs to allocate free vaccination services to all veterans, veteran spouses, caregivers and Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs recipients, he announced.

The act would enable them to get COVID-19 vaccines regardless of whether they are enrolled in VA health care. The bipartisan bill would also direct the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that the VA’s vaccine allocation matches this potential increase in the eligibility criteria.

The SAVE LIVES Act will expand the VA’s authority to provide vaccines to:

≤ veterans who are not eligible for enrollment in VA’s health care system, including veterans without compensable service-connected disabilities and veterans who have incomes above a certain threshold;

≤ caregivers of veterans who are enrolled in various VA home-based and long-term care programs;

≤ veterans living abroad who rely on the Foreign Medical Program;

≤ spouses of veterans; and

≤ CHAMPVA recipients, who are spouses or children of permanently and totally disabled veterans or of veterans who have died from service-connected disabilities.

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