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While the United States sees rising rates of COVID-19 cases as a nation, Michigan has so far dodged the biggest one.
In the past two weeks, Michigan has ranked 45th in daily new infections per 100,000 population, according to data from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means it has the sixth lowest case rate, down from 15 a week ago.
At 21.5 cases per 100,000 per week, the state follows only South Dakota, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Michigan also reported the seventh smallest percentage increase in new cases in the past 14 days (77% increase). Nationally, the country has seen an increase of almost 200% in the past two weeks.
Hospitalizations are also down, with Michigan ranking 43rd in hospitalizations per capita. The state is one of six to report a drop in the number of COVID-19 patients in the past 14 days.
“So far, crossing our fingers our numbers, we seem to be doing better than what the rest of the states are seeing,” said Dr Adnan Munkarah, executive vice president and clinical director of Henry Ford Health System. .
“Although, if you start to follow the numbers over the last few days, we are starting to see a slight increase and we really hope that this is not a sign that you are starting to see a spread of the delta variant in some of the our communities where the vaccination rate is lower.
Related: Delta variant slowly rises in Michigan as doctors stress vaccine’s importance
Dr Munkarah attributed Michigan’s recent low case rates to the state’s vaccination efforts. He cited studies which indicate that the available vaccines work against all known strains, including the delta variant, and that even a single dose provides a boost to someone who has some level of natural immunity to a disease. previous infection.
“These are important things we need to learn from,” he said. “This is emerging data that is important for us to say, even if someone has had an infection, it is important to get the vaccine to boost immunity, and despite concerns about the delta variant, the vaccines work. “
Vaccinations could help protect Michiganders, but the 10th most populous state only ranks 25th for per capita vaccinations with 96,974 doses given per 100,000 people, according to CDC data.
Michigan has vaccinated the first dose for 57.5% of residents aged 12 and over and has fully vaccinated 53.5% of that population. As for the population aged 16 and over, 62.9% got a first shot, according to data from the state health department.
Another potential factor is that Michigan has already seen a big increase in the spring, which means more people are naturally developing antibodies.
Not so long ago, the 10th most populous state was at the top of the lists of COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations as the spring surge hit the state particularly hard. Michigan peaked at 7,006 reported cases per day in mid-April, before reaching pandemic lows in late June.
Between July 13 and July 19, Michigan had 80 of its 83 counties with low or moderate transmission levels, meaning positive test rates were below 7.9% and cases were below 50 per million people.
Two counties – Branch and Iron – reported substantial transmission levels, meaning positivity rates of 8-9.9% and / or 50-99 cases per million), while only Gogebic County reported a high level of transmission (10% positivity and / or or more than 100 cases per million).
No matter where Michigan is now, health officials are urging unvaccinated people to research and consider getting vaccinated before another spike in cases hits the state. Another increase in the number of cases, combined with the upcoming flu season, could be “a disaster,” Munkarah said.
The vaccines are widely available in Michigan, and health officials are monitoring their safety and effectiveness in preventing serious illness from the coronavirus. To find a vaccine near you, visit the Michigan COVID-19 vaccine website.
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