Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist (left) tours the COVID-19 vaccination site in the Lincoln Ballroom of the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn March 29 with Wayne County Commissioner Sam Baydoun (D-13th District) and Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II toured the COVID-19 vaccination site in the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center’s Lincoln Ballroom March 29.
He was joined by state Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-3rd District), state Rep. Abdullah Hammoud (D-15th District), Wayne County Commissioner Sam Baydoun (D-13th District) and City Council President Susan Dabaja.
Gilchrist said the state administration is working around the clock to expand the COVID-19 vaccination program in a way that will make it both equitable and efficient.
“I am grateful to the Dearborn Fire Department, local officials and volunteers who are working together to create a welcoming, inclusive and accessible approach to keeping people safe and healthy,” he said. “The vaccination efforts like the one in Dearborn are crucial to beating COVID-19, and I encourage all Michiganders to get any of the three vaccines once they become eligible.”
The state of Michigan goal is to vaccinate 70 percent of all residents 16 and older as soon as possible. To date, 3.9 million vaccines have been administered in Michigan, which has a total population of approximately 10 million people (including children) as of 2019.