The Mining Journal newsroom has received more than a handful of calls recently from local residents wondering and worrying about the COVID-19 vaccine — specifically, when the essential medicine will be available here and where.

Specific answers to those apparently simple questions have proven elusive to our professional news staff: We’re told there isn’t a whole lot of the vaccine around and local officials are giving out shots as quickly as they can.

If you’re in your late 60s and prone to pneumonia, those answers aren’t providing a great deal of confort.

On Friday, Mining Journal readers learned that Marquette County Health Department Health Officer Jerry Messana said that less than 5% of the department’s vaccine supply remains in the freezer. Through its vaccine clinics for ages 65 and older, the department has been averaging 600 vaccinations per day, the Journal story detailed.

“Capacity and infrastructure are not the problem, limited vaccine supply is the problem,” Messana said for the record.

While the health department has received many phone calls as locals anxiously await their turn, Messana ensured that the supply chain issue starts at the federal level.

“Vaccines being distributed to the state of Michigan are roughly 60,000 per week. Until manufacturers ramp up production or a new manufacturer comes into the picture, supplies will continue to be scarce,” he said.

Well, there it is. Almost certainly not the answer locals wanted but it least we know where we stand.

In what could prove to be a very helpful move, the health department has launched a new process to make appointments to receive the vaccine starting today.

An online portal at mqthealth.org opened at 10 this morning and will stay open until further notice. Individuals are asked to click on the pre-registration link.

Phone lines at 906-475-7847 also opened at 10 a.m. and will be staffed from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday until further notice.

We hope local residents take advantage of it.