As vaccines are becoming
more
and
more
accessible,
Michigan Medicine has been
a key distributor responsible
for vaccinating hospital staff
and patients as well as some
students and faculty in Ann
Arbor. Each week, the number
of vaccines available nationally
varies, which influences the
supply chain and ultimately
how many doses local health
systems have access to.
Michigan
Medicine
has
the capacity to vaccinate up
to
24,000
individuals
per
week. However, the amount
of
vaccinations
actually
distributed each week depends
on
the
amount
of
doses
allocated to Michigan Medicine
by the state, according to Mary
Masson,
Michigan
Medicine
director of public relations.
“Michigan
Medicine
does
not order a specific amount of
vaccine doses from the state of
Michigan, the state determines
how much to distribute to us,”
Masson wrote in an email.
“If our supply of vaccines
increases, we could do 12,000
doses per week and ramp up to
20,000. During this week, the
week of March 15, we received
enough vaccines to open 4,400
first-dose appointments.”
The University of Michigan
has been vaccinating through
the Michigan Medicine system
since
vaccines
were
first
made available in the state
in
December
2020.
Marisa
Eisenberg, University associate
professor
of
epidemiology
complex systems and math,
explained the federal and state
tiers of the vaccine distribution
pipeline.
“The way that (the vaccine
pipeline) works is that there’s
a federal allocation and the
Michigan
Department
of
Health and Human services
puts in orders each week to
the federal system,” Eisenberg
said. “There’s been a shift in
the way that the state has been
distributing vaccines, so it was
initially more heavily relying
on hospital systems, and then
to try to make more equitable
vaccine
distribution,
they
shifted towards a more local
health department based model
and using pharmacies.”
Eisenberg
said
the
way
vaccines are chosen to be
distributed to regions is based
on
the
social
vulnerability
index, which is a percentile
used by the Centers for Disease
Control
and
Prevention
to
determine the vulnerability of
communities to stresses that
negatively impact health. As of
2016, Washtenaw county had
an SVI score of 0.2557, which
indicates
low
to
moderate
vulnerability. However, areas
of the county with more Black
and
Latinx
residents
have
lower SVI scores compared
to other areas, so the county
health department set up pop-
up vaccination clinics earlier in
the month specifically focusing
on these communities.
According
to
Masson,
Michigan Medicine spent a few
weeks allocating their doses
to patients who had already
received
their
first
doses,
since the Pfizer and Moderna
vaccines require two doses
spaced 3 or 4 weeks apart for
maximum immunity. This is
what caused previous pauses
in
first-dose
appointments,
though
recently
Michigan
Medicine has been receiving
enough weekly doses to resume
first-dose appointments.
“We have continued to offer
vaccine clinics weekly, although
we had some weeks where we
couldn’t offer new first-dose
appointments
because
we
didn’t have the vaccine supply,”
Masson wrote. “We continue
to work with other health
care systems, our local health
departments, and the state on
distribution.”
Eisenberg works on the state’s
COVID-19 response and focuses
on infectious disease modeling.
She echoed Masson and said the
decreased availability of first-
dose appointments at Michigan
Medicine is due to delays in
vaccine supply.
“The reason for Michigan
Medicine’s pause is that they
just haven’t been getting much
in the way of supply,” Eisenberg
said. “And so for a while, I know
that they were really mostly just
focusing on finishing out second
doses from the people who
they had already gotten first
doses for, and so that, I think,
reasonably they shifted back
towards doing more first doses
again. I think they finished up
that round of second doses and
then, now they’re starting to get
rolling on first doses again.”
Susan
Ringler-Cerniglia,
the Washtenaw County Health
Department public information
officer, discussed the process
of receiving and requesting
vaccines for the county as a
whole.
“We only provide a request
number for the second doses
we need each week,” Ringler-
Cerniglia said. “Then, we take
everything that is available to
us, so (there is) zero decision
making.
Our
doses
come
through
the
state
health
department
(MDHHS).
The
state allocates vaccine supplies
to local health departments and
health systems/hospitals.”
LSA senior Sabrina Corsetti is
involved in COVID-19 modeling
research. She believes that
vaccine opportunities as well
as students having a positive
mindset going into the Fall
2021 semester is critical for
having a return to normalcy in
the fall.
“I know that the University
was initially concerned that
they might not be able to
vaccinate students until really
the fall,” Corsetti said. “But
since supply has been ramping
up, I think there is a lot more
optimism
about
vaccinating
students sooner.”
Once supply of vaccines is
stabilized, Corsetti said she
thinks the University should
focus on ensuring that vaccine
distribution for students is a
safe and easy process.
“So obviously, a lot of it is
supply
dependent,
making
sure that you know the most
vulnerable
populations
are
vaccinated … prior to just the
general student population,”
Corsetti said. “I think a lot of
it comes down to making sure
that
we
minimize
vaccine
hesitancy
in
the
student
population. I think that once
the supply is taken care of, just
making sure that students feel
comfortable and safe going and
getting it and also publicizing
where they can go to get the
vaccine and what methods they
can follow to go get it.”
Daily Staff Reporter Kaitlyn
Luckoff
can
be
reached
at
kluckoff@umich.edu.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
4 — Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Experts explain local COVID-19 vaccine supply chain
Michigan Medicine, health department work with state to receive doses
RESEARCH
Design by Allison Yih.
KAITLYN LUCKOFF
Daily Staff Reporter
“Regent
Ron
Weiser’s
comments
are
dangerous,
disgusting
and
damaging
to
our state and the University of
Michigan,” Bernstein wrote. “His
reference to Governor Whitmer,
Attorney General Nessel and
Secretary of State Benson as
“the three witches” is blatantly
sexist. Suggesting that the work
of a political party should enable
‘burning’ these three women ‘at
the stake’ is even worse.”
Bernstein wrote that Weiser’s
reference to the “assassination”
of members of Congress in the
context of political rhetoric has no
place in society.
“This isn’t and shouldn’t be a
partisan issue,” Bernstein wrote.
“It’s
about
rejecting
violent,
reckless rhetoric.”
Bernstein
added
that
the
regents’ job is to be responsible
stewards of the University — a
responsibility he does not believe
Weiser has fulfilled.
“In doing so we must protect
democracy, honor public service
and
support
our
students,”
Bernstein wrote. “Regent Weiser
has failed to do so. Our University
and the people of this state deserve
better. He should resign.”
Regent Mike Behm (D) told
The Daily in a phone interview
he would ask Weiser to resign.
Behm said he found the misogyny
of
Weiser’s
statements
about
Whitmer, Nessel and Benson
alarming.
“Misogyny has no place in
our society and is antithetical to
his role as a Regent, and also to
the mission of the University of
Michigan,” Behm said.
Behm added that he thought
a publicly elected official should
never use the word “assassination”
in a speech.
Asked why he thought Regents
were
just
speaking
against
Weiser now despite months of
calls from many in the campus
community for his resignation,
Behm
said
Weiser’s
January
oral surgery could have been a
factor in the remarks where he
claimed ignorance of the Capitol
insurrection.
“(March 25’s speech) is quite
different from that,” Behm said.
“Those were planned remarks in
front of a group of people.”
Regent Paul Brown (D) called
on Weiser to resign in a March 27
text message to The Daily and said
the comments were “misogynistic,
divisive and reckless.”
“I was sickened to see the
Republican State Party Chair
refer to our state’s three highest
elected officials, and my friends,
as “witches” to be “burned at the
stake,” and for the audience to
cheer in support,” Brown wrote.
“These statements are at odds with
everything this great University,
our state, our country and good
people hold sacred. Degrading
and inflammatory speech by any
public official is inexcusable and
should not be tolerated by good
people.”
Brown added that he was
saddened to have to condemn
Weiser,
noting
Weiser’s
contributions
to
Michigan
Medicine that have “saved lives
and will save countless more in
the future.”
“Although we hold different
political
beliefs,
I’ve
known
Regent
Weiser
to
be
an
exceptional regent, completely
dedicated to the University and
its noble mission,” Brown wrote.
“I know Regent Weiser loves the
University of Michigan. He has
been extremely generous to the
University’s three campuses and
hospital.”
Brown said he believes in
redemption and forgiveness, and
so hoped the initial reports of
the comments were inaccurate or
that Weiser would release “a since
apology.”
“Disappointingly, I have since
learned that the reporting is
accurate and Regent Weiser’s
follow up statement is anything
but an apology,” Brown wrote.
“So, particularly at this moment
in our history when such extreme
rhetoric from too many political
leaders has sewn deep division
in society, hurt individuals, and
threatened our democracy, I can
only come to the conclusion that
any official, including Regent
Weiser, who would unrepentantly
engage in such speech should
not remain in public office,
especially at an institution like the
University of Michigan, which so
values upholding gender equality
and protection of women’s rights.”
Regent
Denise
Ilitch
(D),
chair of the Board of Regents,
condemned Weiser’s comments
but stopped short of calling for
his resignation in an email to The
Daily.
“Despite
any
differences
among
its
eight
members
elected by the State’s voters, we
have worked constructively on
advancing the institution without
destructive politics getting in
the way,” Ilitch wrote. “That is
why it is so disturbing to learn
of the repugnant language used
by a member of our Board when
addressing a political group. His
use of violent imagery crosses
a line that is inconsistent with
what should be our shared values.
There should be no place for
physical threats by elected or
political leaders on our Board or
in our State.”
Prior
to
Acker,
Bernstein
and Behm and Brown’s calls
for resignation, in a phone call
with
The
Daily,
University
spokesperson
Rick
Fitzgerald
said the University is aware of
the reports of March 25’s North
Oakland Republican Club meeting
but declined to comment on any of
Weiser’s comments.
Weiser was not at March 25’s
Regents meeting — and has not
attended a single meeting in
2021— but Fitzgerald dismissed
any
criticism
of
Weiser’s
attendance at meetings being
unusual. Fitzgerald said Regents
have
conflicts
with
Board
meetings from “time to time,” and
noted Regent Katherine White
(D) has also missed the last two
meetings.
“Those conflicts often collide
with each other and those things
are sort of inevitable,” Fitzgerald
said.
A source close to the Board
told
The
Daily
that
Weiser
was at Michigan Republican
Party Headquarters during the
February Board meeting, and
Weiser said March 25 that he was
recruiting a Republican candidate
for Michigan State University’s
Board of Trustees during the
March 25 meeting.
Behm said Weiser has “not
been engaged” on the Board since
January, pointing to his absence at
both of the Board’s 2021 meetings.
“He has been less engaged on
the Board, and so I don’t know
if he will remain on the Board in
name only or not,” Behm said.
Behm added that he was able
to attend March 25’s meetings all
day despite being out of town.
“That’s what you sign up to
do when you run for the Board,”
Behm said.
Weiser said he would not resign
from the Board in a statement
posted to Twitter March 26.
“I made some comments that
are clearly being taken out of
context,” Weiser wrote. “While
I should have chosen my words
more
carefully,
anyone
who
knows me understands I would
never advocate for violence…. I
will not be resigning from the
University of Michigan, and our
focus at the Michigan Republican
Party remains the same—winning
in 2022.“
The Michigan Democratic
Party released a statement calling
on Weiser to resign from the
Board of Regents on March 26,
saying Weiser’s comments are not
appropriate for his elected office.
“As a member of the University
of Michigan’s Board of Regents,
he oversees millions of taxpayer
dollars,” Michigan Democratic
Party Chair Lavora Barnes said
in the statement. “It’s clear his
comments do not reflect the
values of the university’s board,
faculty, and student body. His
statements are not only sexist but
markedly dangerous and will only
serve to damage the institution’s
reputation.”
State Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann
Arbor, also called for Weiser’s
resignation in a tweet March 27.
“Ron Weiser should resign,”
Irwin’s tweet said. “His recent
statements are an embarrassment
to the University and a danger
to our liberal democracy. The
University of Michigan deserves
better.”
Whitmer responded to Weiser
in a tweet with a quote from
author Lindy West.
“For a long time, a certain set
of men have called women like me
‘witches’ to silence and discredit
us,” Whitmer’s tweet said.
A
spokesperson
for
the
Michigan
Department
of
State
labeled
the
comments
“horrifically
reckless
and
unconscionable,” in light of the
October plot to kidnap Whitmer
and the Jan. 6 violence at the U.S.
capitol.
“Secretary Benson and her
colleagues
have
experienced
firsthand how this rhetoric is
later used as justification for
very real threats made against
government
officials,
election
administrators and democracy
itself,” the statement reads. “Any
leader who does not resoundingly
denounce this kind of behavior
and attitude is complicit in their
silence. If we’re ever going to be
able to move forward and begin
solving the problems facing the
people of this state in a bipartisan
manner, comments like this need
to stop.”
This article has been updated
to include comments from various
regents, University President Mark
Schlissel and other public officials
released after the article’s initial
publication.
Daily
News
Editors
Calder
Lewis and Emma Ruberg can be
reached at calderll@umich.edu and
eruberg@umich.edu.
Regent
Jordan
Acker
(D)
addressed students after the
announcement was made. Acker
praised student activists for
their diligence in pushing the
University to move towards
divestment,
saying
activism
on this matter has made the
University a better place and he
was “proud to vote yes” on the
effort.
“Likely, there are moments
that you felt that you were
yelling into the void about the
most important issue of our
generation, the threat of climate
change,”
Acker
said.
“Your
activism matters. Your voice
matters. Your passion matters.
And
yes,
your
viewpoint
matters.”
Later, Acker tweeted that the
$140 million in carbon neutral
investments was a “good start,”
and that the University “should
and will do much more.”
The University’s commitment
to a net zero endowment is
the first from an American
public
university,
Regent
Mark Bernstein (D) said at the
meeting.
“It’s been said that we are
the first generation to feel
the effects of climate change,
and the last generation that
can do something about it,”
Bernstein said. “This is a big
and complicated problem, and
the University of Michigan is
in the business of solving big
complicated
consequential
problems; leaders don’t shy away
from hard challenges. We must
do this, as President Kennedy
once said about a different
daunting challenge, ‘We have to
do this not because it is easy, but
because it is hard.’”
University
President
Mark
Schlissel said the University
is committed to this shift in
investments, which can be seen
through the magnitude of the
$140 million investment.
“So make no mistake, we’re
serious about the change in
direction,” Schlissel said. “This
strategy is informed by the
growing risk of investments in
fossil fuels during the essential
transition to a lower carbon
economy.”
The board approved three
separate investments totalling
up to $140 million, with the first
being a $30 million investment
to renewable energy projects
from D.E. Shaw, an investment
firm.
Schlissel provided specific
details into the $140 million
the
University
will
invest
in renewables. Later in the
meeting, The Board of Regents
approved
the
investment
requests unanimously.
“U-M will shift its natural
resources
investment
focus
away
from
oil
extraction
reserves
toward
renewable
energy investments with an
attractive risk adjusted return
profile,” Schlissel said. “We
also will pursue infrastructure
and
services
investments
that
support
more
efficient
resource utilization, as well as
investments into other emerging
technologies
that
support
the
transition
to
a
carbon
neutral economy. The research
investments
into
renewable
energy
and
sustainable
infrastructure development will
be presented shortly for a vote of
the board.”
University
Chief
Financial
Officer
Kevin
Hagerty
said
the University would be the
only endowment investor in
the fund, as D.E. Shaw has not
historically pursued foundations
or endowments as investors.
“We think we will be able
to help this manager identify
technological
improvements
over time, creating additional
upside for both the endowment
and the environments,” Hagerty
said.
Hagerty
also
requested
the committal of $50 million
to an investment firm called
Aplomado Partners. Aplomado
is an investment manager that
works with solar developers to
help maximize their efficiency
in utility solar projects.
“Working
with
Aplomado
allows solar developers to use
their time and capital much
more efficiently, which enables
solar projects to be built far
more quickly than is typical,”
Hagerty said.
The Board then approved a
commitment of up to $60 million,
from the University’s long term
investment portfolio, to Cresta
Sustainable
Infrastructure.
Cresta Fund Management, a firm
based in Dallas that focuses on
infrastructure,
transportation
and sequestration, is an existing
U-M investment manager.
“The
fund
has
a
broad
investment scope, all of which
is focused on developing energy
transition
strategies
and
technologies, and sustainable
infrastructure,” Hagerty said.
“We anticipate, for example,
that the first two projects the
fund will actually make will be
a renewable gas project, and a
carbon sequestration project.”
The President’s Commission
on Carbon Neutrality released
one week prior a series of 50
recommendations to move the
University
towards
complete
carbon neutrality in the coming
decades. Schlissel said March 25
he will announce action on the
items in the coming months.
Daily
News
Editor
Calder
Lewis
can
be
reached
at
calderll@umich.edu. Daily Staff
Reporters Christian Juliano and
Jared Dougall can be reached
at
julianoc@umich.edu
and
jdougall@umich.edu.
DISINVESTMENT
From Page 1
WEISER
From Page 1