Detroit’s Ford Field to Host Mass Vaccination Site
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has announced that an eight-week mass vaccination site will open on March 24 at Ford Field in Detroit to administer vaccine doses to residents in the broader southeast Michigan region.
The site will have the capacity to give residents 6,000 doses each day.
Michigan is reportedly one of a handful of states getting this designated vaccine site. The Biden Administration in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) picked southeast Michigan for the community site based on the CDC’s priority tool to help those hardest hit and most vulnerable, according to a statement.
The site will operate from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., seven days a week, for eight weeks under the federal government’s vaccination pilot program.
It will be managed by the State of Michigan with support from FEMA, Wayne County, the City of Detroit, Ford Field, Meijer, Henry Ford Health System, and the Lions.
“The safe and effective vaccine is the best way to protect Michiganders and their families, and it is essential to getting our country back to normal, so that we can all hug our loved ones, get back to work, and send our kids to school safely,” Whitmer said in a statement. “I want to thank President Biden and FEMA for the opportunity to build one of the nation’s first community vaccination sites to service the entire Southeast Michigan region. Over one million Michiganders of all races have already been safely vaccinated, and this site will help us to reach our goal of equitably vaccinating 70 percent of Michiganders who are 16 years or older more quickly. Ramping up vaccine distribution will also help our economy recover faster and help save our small businesses that have been hit hard by the pandemic. Let’s get to work, and let’s get it done.”
“After a year of tremendous challenges and heartache, the new vaccine site at Ford Field will be a beacon of hope in a community that was hit hard by the devastating impacts of this deadly virus,” Lt. Governor Gilchrist added. “When we saw this virus targeting Black and Brown communities, Michigan got to work setting up one of the nation’s first task forces to help reduce the staggering, disproportionate rate of COVID-19 cases and deaths in communities of color. As we continue to expand our state’s vaccine program, we must build upon the work that we’ve done in this space to ensure equitable access to this safe and effective vaccine. We can honor the legacies of the those we’ve lost to this virus by ensuring that we all get the vaccine when it is our turn.”
Free parking will be available at the vaccination site. Michigan is also working to provide free transportation for those who need it.
For more information about the COVID-19 vaccine, head to Michigan.gov/COVIDVaccine.
