MICHIGAN — Frontline health care workers at two Michigan hospitals today were the first people to receive the new COVID-19 vaccines. Marc McClelland, pulmonary and critical care physician, 46, of Ada, was among the first people to receive the vaccine in the state, at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital.

“To me this is a day of hope,” McClelland said.

Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor also administered vaccines on Monday. More vaccine doses will arrive at additional Michigan hospitals and other medical centers across the state in the coming days and weeks. The first Michigan citizens to be vaccinated will be hospital and health care workers, and staff and residents of long-term care facilities.

Though the COVID-19 vaccinations have now begun in Michigan and worldwide, doctors urge everyone to continue to practice preventative measures such as properly wearing masks, social distancing and frequent hand washing to reduce the spread of the virus until the vast majority of people have been vaccinated.

People with questions about COVID-19 and other vaccines should consult a credible source with answers based on medical science. Sources for vaccine information based entirely on medical science include IVaccinate.org,  the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC.