Detroit will send workers door-to-door to urge residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine

April 7, 2021 in News by RBN Staff

source:  audacy

Detroit will send workers door-to-door to urge residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine

Photo credit Getty Images

(WWJ) The city of Detroit, still struggling with the coronavirus, plans to send workers door-to-door to encourage residents to get the vaccine.

The Detroit City Council has approved a $1.2 million contract with Detroit Employment Solutions to hire over 50 people. Officials will also work with nonprofits, similar to the door-to-door effort for the census.

Detroit Mayor Duggan’s executive assistant, Vicki Kovari, says this is an all-out effort to battle COVID-19 in the city.

“We’re hoping to get started by the end of April,” she told WWJ Newsradio 950’s Sandra McNeill. “And the first stage of this canvassing we will knock on every residential door in the city of Detroit; approximately 220,000 doors.”

The effort comes after Mayor Duggan on Monday warned of skyrocketing COVID rates in the city.

The number of people in the hospital, he said, has tripled in two weeks; while the city’s vaccination rate is just 21% — well below the statewide average.

On Tuesday, MDHHS reported just under 5,000 new confirmed cases. There were also 58 deaths added to the total; 16 of them which were found during a vital records check.

This comes after Monday’s update (which includes daily numbers for Sunday and Monday) added up to nearly 11,000 new cases, after MDHHS on Saturday reported a record daily total topping 8,000.

The state health department says more than 707,000 people have now been confirmed to be infected with the virus in Michigan, since counting began in March of 2020. More than 577,100 of those people have recovered.

Check the latest, detailed COVID-19 numbers for Michigan at michigan.gov/coronavirus/.

Want to get your shot?

Sign-up for the mass vaccination clinic at Ford Field in Detroit is available through these three options:

• Online at meijer.com/register/CL2021
• Text EndCOVID to 75049
• Call the MDHHS COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 (press 1)

For other vaccination sites, check with your doctor, local health department, hospital system (eg: Henry Ford or Beaumont) or visit Michigan.gov/COVIDVaccine for the latest information.