Oakland County has achieved the state and national goal of 70 percent COVID-19 vaccine coverage, County Executive Dave Coulter announced by video on the Executive Office Facebook page last Friday. While Coulter said the county has reached a "significant milestone," the county is not quite ready to celebrate because of the variants in the community.
"We've been doing everything possible to get as many COVID-19 vaccination shots into Oakland County arms and today we reached that elusive goal of getting 70 percent of our population of people ages 16 and older vaccinated with at least the first dose," Coulter said. "We're among the first counties in the state and the first in Metro Detroit to reach this goal and I'm so grateful that so many county residents took the initiative to get vaccinated and keep themselves, their families, friends and neighbors safe from this insidious virus.
"But while reaching this vaccination goal is an important moment to acknowledge, we're not done fighting this pandemic. The Delta variant of the virus is still present in the state and Oakland County and these new mutations of COVID are highly contagious. With 30 percent of our population still unvaccinated, we can't fully get back to normal."
Coulter encouraged those who are not vaccinated talk to their doctors, nurses, friends, or family members who have gotten the vaccine because nearly all new infections and deaths are in individuals who are unvaccinated.
This milestone also means Oakland County's $50 gift card incentive to reach 70 percent has come to an end. As of July 23, more than 1,100 gift cards have been distributed to Oakland County residents who have been vaccinated since June 24. Plus, there are hundreds more who have applied to collect the incentive and are awaiting verification from state vaccine records.
Any Oakland County resident who received their first dose of COVID vaccine between June 24 and July 23 is eligible to apply for the gift card incentive. Go to www.OaklandCountyVaccine.com to fill out the form. Those who do not have access to the Internet may call the Nurse on Call at 800-848-5533 during business hours. All requests must be submitted by August 6.
Meanwhile, Oakland County is turning its attention to immunizing college students against COVID-19 for the fall semester. The Health Division is working with local universities and colleges to schedule on-campus vaccination clinics for students who return later this summer. The county will announce details soon. Only 56.5 percent of Oakland County residents between the ages of 16 and 29 have received their first dose.
Oakland County Health Division continues to hold daily COVID-19 vaccine clinics from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at both its North Oakland Health Center in Pontiac and South Oakland Health Center in Southfield as well as at other community events and destinations.
For additional information, go to OaklandCountyVaccine.com. Those who do not have access to the Internet may call the Nurse on Call at 800-848-5533 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. for more information.
