Vaccinations for 65 and Older Begins Monday, Jan. 11, in Washtenaw County

From the Washtenaw County Health Department

Washtenaw County Health Department is actively vaccinating health care workers in phase 1A. We have provided and distributed over 2,200 vaccinations, including EMS, medical first responders and frontline health care workers. Anyone eligible in 1A but not yet vaccinated though a local health system should complete our survey. Scheduling for the next phase, which includes older adults and some essential workers, begins Monday, Jan 11.

Yesterday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) updated their vaccine priority guidance and has authorized local health departments to begin vaccinating the following groups starting Monday, Jan 11:

• People age 65 years or older
• Frontline, essential workers with frequent or ongoing exposure as a part of their work. This includes some, but not all essential workers previously designated in 1B. First responders, police officers, jail and prison staff, pre-K-12 teachers and childcare providers are included.

In Washtenaw County, this represents thousands of newly eligible individuals. Vaccine availability still depends on both vaccine supply and staffing capacity. Please be patient. We cannot vaccinate everyone eligible immediately.

For those now eligible under the revised guidance, scheduling information will be available on our website by Monday. Please do not call or email for more information before Monday. Please review available information before calling, if possible. Also please remember your scheduled appointment may be weeks away depending on overall supplies and capacity.

Individuals eligible through their employment should expect scheduling information through their employers.

Updated information is available at www.washtenaw.org/covid19vaccine. Individuals may also sign up for our COVID-19 email update list to stay informed.

We appreciate your patience as we prepare for these upcoming vaccination phases. We may not be able to answer all individual questions as quickly as we would like. Please be assured we are vaccinating as quickly as we can and are sharing information as we have it.