Plum Health Blog
City of Detroit Vaccine Rollout Update
The vaccine rollout here in Michigan has been relatively slow compared to other states. The Washington Post has a great article tracking vaccinations. Here’s where Michigan stands in the COVID vaccine effort:
At least 222,379 first doses have been administered (total population is 9.987 million)
covering 5.2% of the prioritized population...
and 2.2% of the state’s population.
Michigan has been allocated 696,600 doses,
enough to vaccinate 16.0% of the prioritized population...
and 7.0% of the state’s population.
On Monday, we received a press release from the City of Detroit about the Coronavirus Vaccine out of the TCF Center. Here it is, in full:
Statement from Detroit COO Hakim Berry on TCF COVID Vaccine Scheduling process
Since 9am this morning our COVID vaccine scheduling call center staffed by Rock Connections has experienced extremely high volumes, receiving more than 100,000 calls. Those who predicted that Detroiters would not be interested in receiving the vaccine were clearly incorrect.
Rock Connections has already increased its call center staff from 42 to 56 representatives booking the appointments. Call Center hours have now been increased by two hours a day and will operate 9 AM and 8 PM.
Our system is set up so that calls will not be kept on hold if there is more than a half-hour wait to speak to a representative. If your call is dropped, please call later today or anytime this week. At any point the wait time is under 30 minutes, your call will go through.
A major cause of call volumes is a large number calls from individuals who are not eligible. We do not have the capacity to answer questions from people under 75 or non-Detroiters about vaccinations in general. If you are not eligible to book the vaccine, please do not tie up the call lines.
As a reminder, people should call 313-230-0505 to schedule an appointment only if they meet the following qualifications:
A Detroit resident 75 and older
Any “good neighbor" 65 and older who drives a 75 year old (or older) Detroit resident to TCF
The following Group B essential workers: K-12 teachers and support staff and child care workers
We are booking 20,000 appointments through February 5th. The call center has the ability to book up to 4,000 appointments per day, so we expect to be booking appointments at least through the end of the day Friday. We will add to those appointments as fast as the federal government provides vaccines.
We thank Detroiters for their patience in this process and, most of all, for their commitment to being vaccinated so life can get back to normal as soon as possible.
This is somewhat frustrating, because the listed qualifications above are narrower than what was previously released. The previous statements from the State of Michigan include more people in the Phase IB, but the City of Detroit must be focusing on Group A only at this time, which includes only seniors over the age of 75:
Group A:
Persons 75 years of age or older not covered in Phase 1A.
This includes those in a congregate setting that were not reached in Phase 1A.
Henry Ford Health System Vaccine RollOut
Henry Ford Health System is also rolling out the vaccine here in Detroit, so if you have a MyChart account with Henry Ford, you could potentially receive an email from Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) about this vaccine option. See below for full details - this information was sent out to HFHS staff on January 8th.
What’s interesting to note is that Henry Ford is following the State of Michigan guidelines for eligibility, including “anyone 65 years and older and a broader category of essential workers.”
We have made considerable progress vaccinating our team members, having administered first doses to nearly 17,000 employees, with second doses underway for those vaccinated during our first days of the campaign. We are now expanding eligibility to volunteers, Henry Ford retirees 65 years and older, and approximately 3,000 students from our clinical education community. Additionally, we are partnering with multiple leaders across our region in a collaborative effort to vaccinate private practice physicians and other healthcare workers.
As you likely know, the state of Michigan has also expanded guidelines for eligibility to include anyone 65 years and older and a broader category of essential workers. Based on that guidance, we are finalizing our plans to begin vaccinating patients and members that meet those guidelines beginning next week.
Sites: We plan to launch two types of sites over time – those that will operate from our existing primary care clinics and others designed to serve as “mass vaccination sites” to accommodate larger numbers of patients safely, provide greater access and parking, and operate without disruption to our normal clinical activities. Here’s a breakdown by market:
South - The K-building at Henry Ford Hospital will open Monday, Jan. 11, with Henry Ford Medical Center – Ford Road expected to open by the end of next week
North - Three sites are expected to open by the end of next week: Henry Ford Medical Centers Lakeside and Columbus and the HAP Troy administrative building
Central - Two sites are expected to open next week: One Jackson Square as early as Monday, Jan. 11, followed by Henry Ford Allegiance Specialty Hospital, the current site for drive-through testing
Staffing: We know staffing continues to be a challenge but we have identified a number of viable options including our own primary care team members to staff the medical center locations. Additionally, HR plans to activate our central staffing model early next week to help identify needs, as well as team members who may be able to redeploy.
Scheduling & Patient Engagement: Initially, we will need to prioritize existing Henry Ford patients 65 years and older and plan to contact them proactively via email, providing resources to help them make an informed decision and encouraging them to sign up for MyChart if they haven’t already, for online scheduling when appointments become available.
We know that much of this is new territory and we will need to be agile as things change. A complex, community-wide vaccination campaign of this size and uniqueness requires unprecedented partnership, innovation and determination. We can’t imagine pulling this off with any other team and we are so proud of your efforts in service to our communities and each other.
Thanks for reading, and best of luck navigating these vaccine resources.
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Frustrations Around Vaccine Rollout are Palpable
As we learn more about Coronavirus Vaccine availability, we'll keep you updated.
Vaccine Options for Oakland County Residents
For residents of Oakland County, there are some options, but they are not robust at this time.
One option would be the Oakland County Health Department. It looks like they are not yet vaccinating https://oaklandcountyvaccine.com/eligibility/
You could periodically check this website to see when they are opening up mass vaccinations.
The other option would be Beaumont Health. However, their website crashed on Friday from people trying to make appointments.
You could try to create an account via the MyBeaumont Chart, here: https://www.beaumont.org/my-beaumont-chart and hope that they send an email to you.
Some of our patients have received an email invitation via the Beaumont MyChart system to get the vaccine. They are trying to give it to people over 75 and then over 65 years of age.
Henry Ford Hospital is doing something similar. Here’s some information from the Detroit Free Press:
Don't call us. We'll call you.
That's what the state's COVID-19 vaccine website and many local health departments are telling seniors, teachers, child care workers and law enforcement officers who will be eligible starting Monday for coronavirus vaccines through an expansion of the statewide immunization program.
In part, that's because local health officials had almost no heads up before Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced anyone 65 or older would soon be eligible to be vaccinated.
Whitmer announced Wednesday that starting next week, people in Priority 1B group will be able to get COVID-19 vaccines along with health care workers, people living and working in long-term care facilities and emergency medical responders who are part of the 1A Priority group.
In short, a lot of people are feeling frustrated and confused about the vaccine roll out - you're not alone in this.
As we know more information, we will share it with you.
As an addendum, in yesterday’s blog we talked about the Vaccine Rollout at the TCF Center in Detroit. Some of our patients have been calling the number since 9 am and it has been continually busy. If you get through, please send me an email or drop a comment on the bottom of this post.
- Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Coronavirus Update for August 2020 in Detroit
This is Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC https://www.plumhealthdpc.com/ and I'm giving a Coronavirus Update for August 2020.
What's up with the spikes of cases in Oakland and Macomb County recently? It's likely that people are gathering for big events (I'm looking at you Jobbie Nooner, 43rd Port Huron Float Down, and the unofficial Woodward Dream Cruise) and not wearing masks or maintaining social distancing.
Stay safe. Wash your hands. Wear a mask. Protect yourself, your loved ones, and your neighbors, near and far.
#PlumHealth #CoronavirusUpdate #DirectPrimaryCare
Coronavirus Update For Detroit Michigan: What Happens Next?
Current Number of Coronavirus Cases and Deaths in Michigan
Covid 19 has been with us for well over 2 months now, and here’s where we stand:
45,045 Cases in Michigan
4250 Deaths in Michigan
657 new cases today
71 new deaths today
Despite the high numbers of total cases (cumulative cases) and cumulative deaths, there is a distinct downward trend in new cases each day. This is great, and it demonstrates the effectiveness of increased testing, social distancing parameters, government interventions like shutting down bars and movie theaters, as well as limiting the capacity of restaurants.
Percentage of People Testing Positive for Covid-19 in Michigan
In Michigan, about 23% of those who have been tested have tested positive for Covid-19. From April 6 to April 27th, the average percentage of positive tests has declined from almost 40% to just over 16%, which is well above the World Health Organization's 3% to 12% recommendation, but moving in the right direction.
Comparing Coronavirus in Finland, Sweden, and Norway
Some groups in the United States have demanded a re-opening of the country, and some of those have pointed to Sweden as a model country. However, Sweden has had worse outcomes with Coronavirus than its neighboring Scandinavian countries.
Finland has 5,573 cases and 252 total deaths
Norway has 7,915 cases and 215 total deaths
Sweden has 23,918 cases and 2,941 total deaths
It’s important to understand what’s working and what’s not working globally so that we can inform our own public policy at the National, State, County, and City level.
When will the Coronavirus Vaccine Be Available?
The Coronavirus vaccine will likely be ready in late 2021. There are multiple phases and stages that the vaccine has to go through, and we’re near the beginning of that process.
What is Direct Primary Care?
Some of you have asked more about Plum Health and Direct Primary Care - we provide a membership model for health care and we believe that health care should be affordable and accessible for everyone. We take care of patients of all ages and stages, from across the metro region, and of varying insurance coverages (including uninsured and underinsured folks). We love saving people money on healthcare services and delivering excellent care and service for our members.
A Few Thank You Notes!
Thank you to Max and his team at Commonwealth Sewing Company for the work they’re doing around making masks in Detroit. Thank you to Tyson Gersh at the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative for delivering 100 KN95 masks to our office - we appreciate you! And thank you to the team at MI FACE SHIELDS for providing us with 60 face shields - this is just another way we can protect ourselves and our patients during this time.
Thanks for reading and watching - Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Coronavirus Update: Have we Flattened the Curve in Michigan?
Coronavirus Update for Detroit and Michigan
As of the filming of this video, there were 32,967 coronavirus cases in the State of Michigan and 2,700 confirmed deaths in the State of Michigan. The increase from April 21st to April 22nd was 967 new cases and 232 new deaths.
This death count was pushed up by deaths that occurred previously and were not attributed to Coronavirus, but are now attributed to Coronavirus. In the video, we mistakenly attributed this jump in new deaths to perhaps an accurate counting of bodies at DMC's Sinai Grace Hospital (https://www.wxyz.com/news/coronavirus/disturbing-images-show-bodies-piled-up-at-sinai-grace-hospital-in-detroit), but this was not the case.
Flattening the Curve
In Detroit and in Michigan, we seem to be flattening the curve. Our public health efforts and the greater community support of these measures seems to be working to reduce the number of new infections. On April 3rd, there were nearly 2,000 cases reported that day. As of April 22nd, there were only 967 new cases reported. This is a good sign that we're being effective in our community strategies and social distancing efforts.
How Vaccines Work and How They May Help Us Prevent Coronavirus in the Future
Vaccines work when scientists are able to take a virus, break it down, and inject only the protein capsule into the body. That's what we, as scientists, do with the flu vaccine. We remove the RNA from the virus, the part of the virus that replicates and creates more viruses, and we give our patients only the viral proteins.
This way, our bodies can create antibodies or a robust immune response to the viral proteins, and prevent a larger infection from taking hold when we're exposed to the actual virus.
What's an Example of a Successful Vaccine from the Past?
Let's use Polio as an example.
In the late 1940s, polio outbreaks in the U.S. increased in frequency and size, crippling an average of more than 35,000 people each year. Parents were frightened to let their children go outside, especially in the summer when the virus seemed to peak. Travel and commerce between affected cities were sometimes restricted. Public health officials imposed quarantines (used to separate and restrict the movement of well people who may have been exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become ill) on homes and towns where polio cases were diagnosed.(https://www.cdc.gov/polio/what-is-polio/polio-us.html)
In 1952, the number of polio cases in the U.S. peaked at 57,879, resulting in 3,145 deaths. Those who survived this highly infectious disease could end up with some form of paralysis, forcing them to use crutches, wheelchairs or to be put into an iron lung, a large tank respirator that would pull air in and out of the lungs, allowing them to breathe. (https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/the-deadly-polio-epidemic-and-why-it-matters-for-coronavirus)
The first polio vaccine was available in the United States in 1955, invented by Jonas Salk.
Thanks to the polio vaccine, dedicated health care professionals, and parents who vaccinate their children on schedule, polio has been eliminated in this country for more than 30 years. This means that there is no year-round transmission of poliovirus in the United States.
Since 1979, no cases of polio have originated in the U.S.
However, the virus has been brought into the country by travelers with polio. The last time this happened was in 1993.
Hopefully, we can achieve the same results with a future Coronavirus Vaccine.
What is Herd Immunity?
Herd Immunity means that enough people in the population are immune to the Coronavirus, which will greatly limit its spread.
This Herd Immunity can be achieved in a few different ways. First, once a number of Americans get the Coronavirus, they will fight off the infection and become immune, limiting the spread of the virus once they recover.
Second, once a vaccine is developed, many more people will become immune through vaccination. Just like being vaccinated for the influenza virus, or for Polio, or for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella, once you’ve been vaccinated for these viruses, your body creates immunoglobulins or antibodies to help protect you from infection from these viruses.
Unfortunately, the Coronavirus or COVID-19 vaccine will take 18 months to 2 years to develop, so this option will take a long time to achieve.
Thanks for reading and watching,
- Dr. Paul Thomas and Dr. Raquel Orlich with Plum Health DPC