Story at a glance
- “Really what we need to do in those situations is to shut things down,” Walensky said.
- Walensky said pulling vaccinations from other states creates a conflict, as it is difficult to predict where the next outbreak could occur.
- More than 50,000 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in Michigan over the last seven days.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said Monday the solution to Michigan’s COVID-19 outbreak lies in restrictions rather than more vaccinations the day after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced she would be asking the Biden administration for more shots.
Walensky advocated for restrictions in the state similar to those imposed at the beginning of the pandemic, arguing that curbing the spread exclusively through vaccination would yield disappointing and slow results, Fox News reported.
“Really what we need to do in those situations is to shut things down,” Walensky said. “If we tried to vaccinate our way out of what is happening in Michigan, we would be disappointed that it took so long for the vaccine to work to actually have the impact.”
Likewise, Walensky said pulling vaccinations from other states creates a conflict, as it is difficult to predict where the next outbreak could occur and the best practice would be to implement social distancing practices, Fox reported.
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Whitmer, during an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday, said that she applauded the White House response to the pandemic but that she would be pushing for additional vaccines to bolster her state’s robust vaccination program.
“We are getting shots in arms. We got over a million shots in arms just in the last two weeks,” Whitmer said. “So we have really been rolling.”
“But all of that being said, right now, we know we’ve got even greater capacity. We could get more vaccines in arms. And when there is a surge, we think that it’s important that we rush in to meet where that need is, because what’s happening in Michigan today could be what’s happening in other states tomorrow,” Whitmer added.
More than 50,000 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in Michigan over the last seven days with a positivity rate of 17.48 percent, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. More than 20 percent of Michigan residents have been fully vaccinated.
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