Michigan COVID-19 increase catches national eye

The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said sending more vaccines to Michigan wouldn’t help stem a surge of COVID-19 cases in the state because the shots take two to six weeks to offer protection. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had called for the federal government to send more COVID-19 shots to help tamp down new cases. The White House last week said the state hasn’t ordered all of its available vaccines.

What’s going on in Michigan? The state recently experienced the highest rate of new cases in the country, with 6,900 new infections on Saturday. That number marks a decrease from a peak last week and is smaller than the surge of COVID-19 cases in November, according to Johns Hopkins University. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky encouraged Whitmer to institute a shutdown to slow the spread, but the governor has avoided imposing new restrictions. The Michigan capitol in Lansing was the site of large protests over Whitmer’s restrictions last spring.

Dig deeper: Read Leah Hickman’s report in Vitals about pro-lifers’ attempts to keep advocating for the unborn during Michigan’s tight lockdown last April.