Governor Gretchen Whitmer is asking the federal government for more COVID-19 vaccine doses as case rates in Michigan appear to be rising.
The governor increased the state’s vaccine goals as Michigan’s seven-day average of case rates topped the nation’s, and as the number of daily COVID deaths is accelerating.
Whitmer said in a press release that the state can handle doubling the goal of 50-thousand vaccine shots per day to 100 thousand. That’s as the surge in cases appears linked to more contagious COVID variants.
The governor also said Michigan is in line to receive a record 624,000 vaccines next week from the federal stockpile. That does not include doses being sent directly to pharmacies.