Detroit to offer third dose of COVID-19 vaccine to immunocompromised residents – Detroit Free Press

Detroiters who have been fully vaccinated for at least six months and have compromised immune systems canget a third dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the TCF Center starting Tuesday, officials announced Monday.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Chief Public Health Officer Denise Fair also urged residents who are unvaccinated to get inoculated now so that they can have protection before a possible fourth surge of COVID-19 hits the city and state in the fall and hospitals start to fill up with patients.

Replay: Mayor Duggan update on 3rd COVID-19 vaccine shot distribution in Detroit

Public health officials say the unvaccinated are the majority of people getting seriously ill, being hospitalized and dying of the virus across the country, particularly in hot spots in the South. Duggan said there is an "enormous river of COVID transmission among the unvaccinated."

Duggan said that based on past patterns, this could be the case in Michigan "in a matter of weeks or months" and is preventable by getting vaccinated now.

"There is a good degree of likelihood that Florida's July could be Michigan's November," Duggan said. "That's what we all have to prepare for."

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The city's first-dose vaccination rate for those 12 and older is 42%, officials said. Thirty-four percent of city residents age 12 and older are fully vaccinated, according to the state's dashboard, last updated Friday.

More than 5.2million Michiganders age 16 and older (64.5% of that population) have at least one dose of vaccine. Fifty-nine percent of residents age 12 and older have at least one dose and 54.7% are fully vaccinated, according to the state's dashboard.

On Friday, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel recommended a third dose of mRNA vaccines, Pfizer or Moderna,for those who are immunocompromised.

The immunocompromised could be people who have had anorgan transplant or have diseases that affect their immune systems, Duggan said.

Distribution of vaccine through the city health department will work like the first- and second-dose shots, with residents calling 313-230-0505 to schedule an appointment.

The TCF Center will reopen Tuesday for those who received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and residents will receive the third shot of whatever vaccine they received before at the drive-through vaccination clinic, Duggan said.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was not approved for a supplemental shot.

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Duggan said the city has 30,000 Pfizer and Moderna doses on hand, and residents do not need a prescription or letter from their doctor to get a third dose.

The $50 Good Neighbor gift card card offer will be in place for those who drive someone to their vaccine appointment.

Duggan urged residents to get their first or second doses of vaccine and to not wait until the virus and its delta variant spreads further. The city has at leastseven locations where residents can get a first- or second-dose shot without an appointment.

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He also said the city will be adding more sites where residents can get their third dose, as well as doing home visits, in the next week or so.

Fair said the city, like the state, is seeing an increase inhospitalizations and cases.She said she is "really concerned" for those who are not vaccinated.

"They remain unprotected. They are unsafe," she said.

City officials urged the use of masks in indoor, public spaces, but whenasked about a mask mandate or proof of vaccination, Duggan said that is up to the state.

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City officials said callers for their third dose of vaccine will be asked four questions before scheduling their appointment:

They should bringtheir vaccination card so it can updated to reflect the third dose.

A list of locationsto receive a COVID-19 vaccine can be found at http://www.detroitmi.gov.

The city also offers free, drive-through testing at the Joseph Walker Williams Community Center, 8431 Rosa Parks Blvd., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for city residents as well as those living in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. No appointment is necessary.

Dr. Adnan Munkarah, executive vice president and chief clinical officer for Henry Ford Health System, said Monday that the health system's infection and vaccination experts are finalizing their decision regarding third-dose shots.

He said week after week, patients increasingly have been testing positive for COVID-19 and a number are being admitted to the hospital. The health system's positivity rate was 1% to 1.5% weeks ago and now is 7% to 10%, he said.

As of Monday, 82 patients were hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19, and another 20 with suspected COVID-19 werein the emergency room being admitted and awaiting results of a test. Fifteen of the 102 patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 are vaccinated while 87 are not, he said.

Munkarah was not aware of pediatric admissions in the Henry Ford Health System hospitals, but said there are young children testing positive for the virus.

He said two counties where Henry Ford Health System has hospitals -- Oakland and Jackson -- have high levels of community transmission for the virus, per the CDC's COVID tracker. Wayne and Macomb counties have substantial levels of community transmission.

The state, overall, is only one of six states in the country with a substantial level transmission. The rest are in high levels of transmission, per the CDC COVID tracker.

Munkarah said people should not wait to get vaccinated, as some immunity is acquired within the first two weeks of the first dose, "a start to give people a little bit of protection."

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He said more than 77% of the health system'semployees are vaccinated, with more going through the process and medical and religious exemptions being worked through. Henry Ford Health System was the first known health system in Michigan to require its workers to be vaccinated by Sept. 10 or they face losing their jobs.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.

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Detroit to offer third dose of COVID-19 vaccine to immunocompromised residents - Detroit Free Press