Michigan Surpasses 70% COVID Vaccination Milestone For Ages 16 And Older, Officials Say

LANSING, Mich. (CBS Detroit) -- The state of Michigan has reached its 70% goal of eligible residents age 16 and older receiving at least one dose of the COVID vaccine.

According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, nearly 5.7 million people have received at least one dose. State officials say unvaccinated Michiganders accounted for 93.1% of COVID cases, 90.7% of hospitalizations and 90.5% of deaths from January to October.

"We know the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines are our way out of the pandemic," said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive at MDHHS, in a press release. "Vaccines are how we prevent infectious variants from spreading and threatening our ability to contain the pandemic. It's important to take a moment to celebrate the hard work of those who have developed these vaccines, as well as those who have administered vaccines these past many months. We also thank Michiganders who have done their part to keep their families and communities safe by getting vaccinated."

Earlier this month, vaccine advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to recommend giving Pfizer's child-sized dose of coronavirus vaccine to children ages 5-11.

More than 50% of residents 16 and older received at least one dose back in May.

According to the state's COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, which now includes ages 5 and older, more than 15 million total vaccines have been distributed as of Nov. 11. Of those, 10.3 million have been administered -- 6 million Pfizer, 3.9 million Moderna and more than 364,000 Johnson & Johnson.

In Wayne County, more than 1.2 million doses have been administered. More than 900,000 were administered in Macomb County and 1.5 million were administered in Oakland County.

More than 470,000 doses have been administered in Detroit.

"This is great news and we have been looking forward to surpassing this milestone since the vaccines became available," said MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel. "We urge Michiganders who are eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible and to continue practices we know help stop the spread of COVID-19, including wearing masks and social distancing. The vaccine continues to be how we will return to normalcy in the state, and we thank all of those who have done their part to end this pandemic."

© 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.