Michigan expands vaccine eligibility to those age 50 and up

LANSING (AP) - Michigan announced Wednesday that everyone ages 50 to 64 can start getting COVID-19 vaccinations on March 22 and that those in that group with certain medical conditions can begin being immunized next week.

It is the largest expansion of eligibility since Jan. 11, when state officials allowed vaccinations of seniors age 65 or older and additional frontline workers such as teachers. The announcement came a day after President Joe Biden said the U.S. expects to take delivery of enough coronavirus vaccine for all adults by the end of May, two months earlier than previously expected.

Starting Monday, two new priority groups will be eligible: 816,000 people age 50 or older with medical conditions or disabilities, and caregiver family members and guardians who care for children with special health care needs.

More than 20 underlying health conditions qualify, including common ones such as high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma and obesity.

All people ages 50 to 64 - 2 million total - will be eligible two weeks later, though 13 percent already have gotten at least one shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine because they qualify for another reason.

As of Monday, 44 percent of Michiganders age 65-74 and nearly half of those 75 and up had received at least one dose. Federal regulators over the weekend cleared a third vaccine, produced by Johnson & Johnson, which works with one dose instead of two.

Some questioned the decision to open eligibility, saying providers such as county health departments are struggling to vaccinate people who already qualify due to limited supply.

"We need to get through the senior population," said Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, a Democrat who complained that the state didn't check with local authorities before deciding to expand eligibility. "Why aren't we making sure we get through the bulk of those folks before we start moving into other categories?"

State Department of Health and Human Services Department spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin said people age 65 and up remain a priority, as the group accounts for 80 percent of Michigan's more than 15,500 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths.

There initially may be waitlists for people ages 50 and older, she said.

The state wants to vaccinate 70 percent of people 16 and up, or 5.6 million, by year's end. Agricultural and food-processing workers became eligible this week.