Whitmer has largely pinned her hopes on the vaccine, but only 23% of the state is vaccinated, and it has been especially slow-moving in areas such as Detroit, where a high number of people with underlying conditions live. Photograph: Bridget Barrett/Zuma/Rex/Shutterstock Critics say Michigan’s vaccine distribution has been too slow. He said: “Governor Whitmer showed a tremendous level of leadership last spring and fall, and that came with a lot of political blowback from conservatives, but she did the right thing – evidence shows that she saved lives, and we need that leadership now.”Ī vaccination site at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. He noted that an increase in deaths has followed spikes in caseloads and hospitalizations, and said a new lockdown “would have a profound impact over the next couple weeks”. A high number of cases from Covid variants is also fueling the surge.Īmong supporters strongly urging the governor to once again put restrictions in place are Dr Abdul El-Sayed, the former director of the Detroit health department. The state reached a bleak mark on Tuesday when over 4,000 people were reported hospitalized – the highest daily total of the pandemic. The surge hit soon after she lifted restrictions in early March, and Michigan’s two-week per-capita caseload now leads the nation. The pressure to remain open continues even as cases and hospitalizations rise, putting Whitmer in an exceedingly difficult position. “I really do think the constant pressure over the last year is catching up, not just from the right and conservatives, but there are a growing number of people in the population, including independents and business persons who are Democrats, who are really angry at Whitmer,” Ballenger said. Many of those bearing the economic brunt of her lockdowns are donors and influential business leaders, said Bill Ballenger, a Michigan political analyst, and the governor appears to have been “scared straight”. Eroding support from independents and Whitmer’s looming 2022 re-election race have also played a role. Among them is a growing sense of pandemic fatigue, and sustained pressure from conservatives.
Several factors are driving the new approach, experts say. Now, as Michigan faces another surge of cases and hospitalizations, its worst yet, Whitmer has changed tack.ĭespite past success and growing calls for another lockdown from public health experts, and doctors managing hospitals with Covid patients, the governor is resisting further restrictions, and is instead largely relying on a vaccination rollout and a voluntary suspension of in-person dining services.
The same approach proved effective last fall when the second wave hit.
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