Vaccines to be opened up to everybody

Every Michigan resident age 16 and older will be eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19 beginning April 5.

State health officials made the announcement Friday, and some health departments wasted no time opening up their waiting lists to the new, expanded group of potential patients. Within an hour one Upper Peninsula health department began scheduling appointments for people 16 and older.

As of Sunday, only Bronson Healthcare seems to be accepting registrations from the new group. The Kalamazoo County Department of Health and Community Services was only accepting registrations for people age 50 and older, healthcare workers, and other vulnerable populations. The same was true of Walgreens, Rite-Aid, and other vaccination sites.

You can expect a run on appointments for the vaccine once the registration forms open up. Demand for vaccines has so far outstripped supply leading the long waiting lists.

In addition to announcing full eligibility, the state health department announced that people 16 and older with certain health conditions would become eligible for the vaccine a little earlier – on March 22. Those health conditions include many physical and developmental disabilities, such as cancer and heart conditions.

You can read more on Bridge Michigan.