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Michigan needs surge in vaccines to battle virus surge

It’s not at all clear why the federal government isn’t putting the pedal down to get Michigan as much vaccine as it needs, given COVID-19 cases are going through the ceiling across the state.

Statewide hospitalizations have quadrupled in a month and are nearing peak levels from last spring and fall, the Associated Press reported over the weekend.

Michigan’s seven-day case rate was 506 per 100,000 people, well above second-worst New Jersey, with 314 per 100,000 residents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AP noted.

The Biden administration’s response? Apparently the state is in line to receive additional federal resources which support giving the vaccines but no more of the actual vaccines than is presently allocated.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has recommended and, indeed, called for, additional vaccine be vectored here and other states experiencing this latest surge in virus cases but to no avail.

But a White House source told AP that the current distribution scheme is “fair and equitable” and that is apparently that.

We and a lot of other people think the federal government is making a mistake on this one, that the distribution formula — which is based, in part, on adult population — should change because circumstances have changed.

We trust our elected leaders, U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters and U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, have taken a break from partisan bickering and are working behind the scenes to change whatever minds need to be changed.

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