Michigan 'In For Tough 4 To 6 Weeks' COVID-19 Surge: Whitmer Says

MICHIGAN — With the omicron variant overtaking the delta variant in the midwest, including Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer provided a COVID-19 update Tuesday morning and set a statewide goal to have one million more Michiganders receive the COVID-19 booster shot by Jan. 31, 2022.

Speaking in a news conference at the Hispanic Center in Grand Rapids, Whitmer encouraged every Michigander who is eligible to get their booster shot, as hospitals across the state are stretched thin with nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists at the brink of being overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.

"Our hospitals and health care workers have been working tirelessly to save lives, and we are in for a tough four to six weeks," Whitmer said. "We must all take action to protect ourselves and help our healthcare workers and hospitals do their jobs."

Although Michigan's positivity rate has decreased, it still remains relatively high at 16.2 percent with 477 new COVID-19 cases per million people. Health officials said Tuesday they expect that number to rise.

The 30 to 39-years-olds were experiencing the highest case rate and there were increases in hospital admissions among most age groups under 50, state health officials said.

While Michigan's COVID-19 hospitalization rate also fell for the first since seeing record highs in late November, the state still leads the nation with COVID-19 patients in hospitals.

The percent of inpatient hospital beds occupied by individuals with COVID-19 was at 20.8 percent and has been increasing for 22 straight weeks with 756 covid-19 deaths from Dec. 3 to 9, state health officials said.

"Today, we remain at a severe point in the pandemic," Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel said. "This surge is severe. COVID-19 visits and longer hospitalizations is pushing our system and our healthcare workers to the brink."

In October alone, unvaccinated people were 4.3 times more likely to test positive for COVID-19 and 13.2 times more likely to die from COVID-19, than fully vaccinated people, state health officials said.

In addition, from Jan. 15 to Dec. 3, 85.1 percent of COVID-19 cases, 88.1 percent of hospitalizations and 85.5 percent of deaths were among individuals who were not fully vaccinated, according to health experts.

"This is not a game. This is not about ratings or leaderships or polls. This is about 800,000 American lives and this is preventable," Whitmer said. "Trust me now, trust this vaccine."