400K COVID-19 Vaccines in Michigan Are About to Expire

Remember when the COVID-19 vaccines first rolled out and it was almost impossible to get an appointment? Well, it's quite the opposite now.

The Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS) says about 400,000 COVID-19 vaccines are going to expire in the next four weeks so those who haven't gotten vaccinated should do it as soon as they can.

Per Bridge Michigan, officials from the MDHHS used data from the Michigan Care Improvement Registry, which tracks the number of vaccines administered, and found that there are several thousands of doses left from each of the three approved vaccines:

22,000 - Moderna
114,000 - Pfizer
270,000 - Johnson & Johnson

All of the left over vaccines are set to expire at varying times in the next four weeks. According to Mike Snyder, a health officer in the U.P, the demand for the shot has gotten so low that the state stopped ordering vaccines six weeks ago.

In the meantime, they have been working with jails and different employers to distribute vaccines. For example, they're working with the U.P. State Fair to have a vaccine tent set up on August 16. The City of Grand Haven is even offering a chance to win $25 gift cards to local breweries for people who get vaccinated at the Coast Guard Festival. Obviously, the state and local cities are trying to do anything they can to get more people vaccinated.

Snyder told Bridge Michigan that there will likely be leftover vaccines no matter what.

...even if recent rates remain steady at about 70,000 shots a week, that would still leave 100,000 or more doses wasted.
And that’s a best-case scenario.

The number of people getting vaccinated has decreased every week since April.

Last week, for instance, just 59,206 shots were administered, compared to 679,345 doses given during the first full week of April.

Michigan isn't the only state experiencing this, either. Stat News says that the federal government has turned down states offering to give the left over vaccines to other countries who are in need.

Get our free mobile app

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.