On March 29, Hillsdale County Health Department expanded COVID-19 vaccine distribution to ages 16 and up, leading to a climb in vaccination numbers in recent weeks, as county officials call for greater vaccination rates.
While the State Health Department mandated counties expand distribution to ages 16+ on April 5, a week earlier, county health officials decided to expand vaccination to the age group after there were not enough people signing up for appointments to get vaccines in arms. The decision comes as Hillsdale County remains the 4th-lowest vaccinated county in Michigan, according to the Michigan COVID-19 vaccine dashboard.
Cases continue to spread across Hillsdale County, which currently has 605 daily cases per million people, which could be a factor for some. According to County Health policy, individuals that are fully vaccinated who have had close contact with a COVID-19 positive person are not required to quarantine unless they are symptomatic. Therefore, fully vaccinated people are protected and can still leave their home to go work, go to school, enjoy a meal at their favorite restaurant, and interact with friends and family while continuing to practice strategies that reduce transmission of the virus, like wearing a mask.
Even as Hillsdale Health Department reinstates the 14-day quarantine for unvaccinated individuals who had close contact with COVID positive person, vaccinated individuals do not have to quarantine unless they show symptoms, according to Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Health Department Officer Rebecca Burns.
“Now is the time we can start making headway with vaccination,” Burns said. “We have been moderately successful so far with vaccination, but we can do a lot better. If you are eligible to be vaccinated, now is the chance to do so.”
The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency has removed all barriers to receiving the COVID-19 vaccination in the tri-county area. Appointments are available now at www.bhsj.org/events/341, and there is no cost, no insurance card will be requested, and they will accept any form of ID for individuals seeking vaccination.
“Everyone 16 years of age and older can schedule an appointment at a clinic offered by our Agency to receive the vaccine,” Burns said. “And for those that can’t make it into one of our vaccine clinics, there are other locations in the tri-county area receiving the vaccine and offering appointments to the public.”
County officials said they have set informal goals for widespread vaccination based on annual county flu vaccination data.
“While we are all optimistically hoping for a 70% vaccination in the county, we realize that is not realistic.” Mark Willey, Hillsdale County Commissioner Chairman, said “a more realistic goal for our county would be 50-55% based on our latest flu vaccine data. Our latest data put us in the low 30% range, trailing the rest of the state.”
Wiley said everyone should get the vaccine unless they have underlying health conditions which prohibit them from doing so.
“That is the only way we are going to be able to get through this crisis which has taken the health and lives of so many. People don’t seem to understand that the vaccine is not a way for the government to control them,” Wiley said. “By in large, the vaccine is much safer than the risk of COVID-19. We still don’t understand the long-term effects of COVID-19.”
According to the CDC, COVID-19 has the risk of damaging organ tissue such as the lungs, heart, brain, and kidneys and causing long-lasting symptoms that span for several weeks if not months.
“Several members of my family have had COVID-19 and have had long-lasting effects, organ damage, or even died,” Wiley said. “We need to take this seriously and take action before more families have to suffer because of this virus. It’s the painful reality of this illness.”
