MARQUETTE, MI-- The medical director for four Upper Peninsula health departments says the region is doing well keeping COVID-19 rates down.
Dr. Robert Lorinser says the U.P. peaked on November 9 and rates have been declining since then, but he’s concerned about surges after the holiday season.
“It usually takes anywhere from, say five days to three weeks to see if there’s a surge or not. So far, so good.”
Lorinser says by the end of this week the majority of health departments he’s associated with should have completed or nearly completed vaccinating the “1A” category: health care workers and first responders. Those in long-term care facilities are getting vaccinated through a federal contract and should also nearly be done. He hopes to complete vaccinations for dentists, pharmacists, primary care workers, and nurses later next week.
Vaccination plans are currently being developed for the “1B” group, which consists of those 75 and older and frontline essential workers who can’t work from home, like teachers, police officers, and grocery store workers. The state has to give health departments permission to move forward on the next stage of vaccinations.
As the U.K. deals with a more infectious variant of the coronavirus and implements a third lockdown, Lorinser notes it’s the nature of viruses to constantly mutate. He says the presence of other forms of COVID-19 only reinforces current health mandates.
“If it is more infectious it just means the social distancing, the masking is just as important, if not more important. The virus, even though it’s more infectious, still can’t spread if it doesn’t have a human next to another human.”
Researchers are testing the efficacy of the vaccine against the variant. Many think it will work against this and other forms of the virus.
