COVID disappears as restrictions set to be lifted

All COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted on Tuesday, June 22nd, over a week earlier than expected. The new guidance means there will be no curbs on activity indoors or out, for vaccinated or unvaccinated individuals. Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s announcement comes as the area has seen activity drop to nearly zero. Western Upper Peninsula Health Officer Kate Beer gave some details at Tuesday’s Houghton County Board of Commissioners meeting.

Whitmer gave no reasons for the shift in strategy, but it has been teased at multiple appearances now over the past week.

Vaccinations have fallen off, with around 61 percent of Michiganders having received at least one dose. That is well short of Whitmer’s original plan to require 70 percent of eligible adults to get poked. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff have rescheduled a meeting to discuss a potential link between myocarditis, heart inflammation, and mRNA vaccines, the Pfizer and Moderna options, in young adults. It has been postponed due to the Juneteenth federal holiday, which didn’t exist until yesterday. It will now happen late next week, instead.

The condition was first flagged in Israel in April where the country’s Health Ministry noticed the connection. They further presented on the issue earlier this month, saying young men were particularly susceptible. Germany and England have both come out against vaccinations for adolescents in light of the findings. The CDC released data on the issue last week, which is available here.