Businesses that depend on indoor dining get tax payment extension
December 10th, 20200 LANSING — Michigan businesses that depend on indoor dining for their revenue are receiving a tax payment extension effective immediately. During a press conference today, Governor Whitmer announced that businesses can postpone their monthly sales use and withholding tax payments that are due Dec. 20 until Jan. 20, 2021. Whitmer...
U.K. warns people with serious allergies to avoid Pfizer vaccine after two adverse reactions
December 9th, 20200 LONDON — Britain’s medicine regulator has advised that people with a history of significant allergies do not get the Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine after two people reported severe adverse reactions on the first day of rollout. Starting with the elderly and frontline workers, Britain began mass vaccinating its population on...
FDA scientists say Pfizer vaccine is “highly effective” as outside panel meets Thursday
December 8th, 20200 U.S. Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists have endorsed the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine ahead of a committee meeting of outside experts and the FDA's eventual use authorization, the health sciences publication STAT reports. Specifically, reviewers have said the two-dose vaccine is shown to be “highly...
Michigan’s “three-week pause” extended by 12 days
December 7th, 20200 LANSING — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced on Monday a 12 day extension of its COVID-19 order that restricts indoor social gatherings and other group activities. The earlier order was in place for three weeks — set to expire on Tuesday — and covered the time people traveled and spent time...
MDHHS updates to 10-day quarantine period following CDC
December 4th, 20200 LANSING - The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has updated guidance on COVID-19 quarantine periods to conform its standards to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday, Dec. 2. The CDC now gives the options to reduce the required number of quarantine days for individuals with known...
In world first, U.K. approves Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
December 2nd, 20200 (REUTERS) — Britain approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, jumping ahead of the rest of the world in the race to begin the most crucial mass inoculation program in history with a shot tested in wide-scale clinical trials. Prime Minister Boris Johnson touted the green light from the U.K.’s medicine authority as a...
State medical director addresses COVID-19 vaccine plan
December 1st, 20200 LANSING — During Tuesday’s COVID-19 press conference, Dr. Joneigh Khladun gave more insight into the state’s plans of vaccine distribution. With Pfizer and Moderna both having vaccines in clinical trial stages, Khaldun said that health experts are expecting a vaccine decision from the FDA and CDC to be made by...
COVID’s second wave underscores the threats facing disabled Americans
December 1st, 20200 The second wave of COVID-19 has arrived with a vengeance. But there's hope on the horizon. Pfizer and Moderna just announced their experimental vaccines proved more than 90 percent effective in clinical trials. People in the highest risk categories — namely, healthcare workers and those with chronic illnesses and disabilities —...
Local doctors address severity of COVID-19
November 29th, 20200 DEARBORN — With COVID-19 cases on the rise, hospitals nearing capacity and growing frustration over health orders, some local doctors want to remind residents to take the pandemic seriously. Dr. Zafar Shamoon, emergency medicine specialist and chairman of emergency medicine at Beaumont Dearborn, said that he has experienced many...
Dearborn public safety chiefs encourage a safe holiday
November 27th, 20200 DEARBORN — In a video posted to the city’s Facebook page, Police Chief Ronald Haddad and the fire department’s Battalion Chief Glenn Owens encouraged residents to have a safe holiday. “We want to remind you that we are in the middle of a COVID crisis,” Haddad said. “And I want to emphasize that only 10 people can be at...
Henry Ford Health System ready for COVID-19 vaccines
November 25th, 20200 DETROIT – As two promising mRNA COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna move closer to approval, healthcare providers around the country are being challenged to receive, store and distribute these vaccines, both of which require storage at unusually low temperatures. As the only hospital in Michigan chosen as a Phase 3 trial site...
COVID mutation will not increase transmissibility, affect vaccine efficacy
November 25th, 20201 LONDON — A peer-reviewed scientific study published on Wednesday says known mutations of the SARS-CoV-2, or coronavirus, do not increase virus transmissibility. Researchers also say the mutations do not pose a threat to vaccine efficacy. Viruses mutate, or change, constantly and some, like the flu, mutate more than others. The...
U.S. officials plan to release 6.4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in first distribution
November 24th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. officials said on Tuesday they plan to release 6.4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses nationwide in an initial distribution after the first one is cleared by regulators for emergency use. Officials from the government’s Operation Warp Speed program told reporters that states and other jurisdictions had been...
First Americans could get COVID-19 vaccine by mid-December, top health official says
November 22nd, 20200 The first Americans could receive a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as 24 hours after the FDA grants approval, which would kick off the largest inoculation campaign in U.S. history starting in mid-December. “Within 24 hours from the approval, the vaccine will be moving and located in the areas where each state will have told us where they...
Local hospitals brace for second wave as COVID-19 cases rise
November 22nd, 20200 DEARBORN — With COVID-19 cases seeing record high numbers over the last couple of weeks, local hospitals are bracing for the second wave. The state of Michigan is tracking bed capacity and available personal protection equipment (PPE) on its website and updates the information daily. Statewide, bed occupancy among all hospitals......
Beaumont Taylor announces visitor limitations
November 19th, 20200 TAYLOR — Beaumont Hospital in Taylor has announced visitor restrictions amid the rising cases of COVID-19. The Taylor facility is joining the Grosse Pointe, Royal Oak, Dearborn, Trenton, Farmington Hills and Troy locations in their decision to limit visitors. “We’ve had a notable rise in COVID-19 cases in Metro Detroit,”...
Local school leaders respond to new MDHHS orders
November 18th, 20200 With the new Michigan Department of Health and Human Services order calling for high schools to suspend in-person learning, local school districts have been forced to make tough decisions for their districts. The Dearborn Heights District 7 School District had been the only district among Dearborn/Dearborn Heights that had allowed for......
City of Dearborn announces office closures, revised hours amid COVID-19 pandemic
November 18th, 20200 DEARBORN — While Dearborn Police are set to enforce the mask mandate and other social gathering limitations issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, the city has announced limitations at its city buildings. While the city clerk’s office at the Dearborn Administrative Center (DAC) will be closed to the public until...FDA allows first rapid test at home; Pfizer to seek clearance for emergency use of vaccines
November 18th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Just as the FDA allowed an emergency use rapid at home COVID test, Pfizer announced that it was just days away from requesting emergency use of a vaccine. The announcement from the Food and Drug Administration to allow for rapid COVID testing at home will require a prescription and can be utilized on an emergency...
Attorney General Nessel joins coalition pushing for scientific, medical research funding during COVID-19 pandemic
November 17th, 20200 LANSING — Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general urging scientific, medical research funding. In a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its National Institutes of Health (NIH), the attorneys general urge them to reject recent recommendations made by the Trump...
Police, other agencies, will enforce new COVID orders if needed
November 16th, 20200 DEARBORN — Michigan will begin its three-week “pause” on Wednesday, targeting in particular indoor gatherings around holidays and indoor dining and bar services to mitigate the sate's intense COVID-19 crisis. This statewide restrictions on certain activities was issued by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services......
We can stop COVID-19: Moderna vaccine success gives world more hope
November 16th, 20200 Moderna Inc’s experimental vaccine is 94.5 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 based on interim data from a late-stage trial, the company said on Monday, becoming the second U.S. drugmaker to report results that far exceed expectations. Together with Pfizer Inc’s vaccine, which is also more than 90 percent effective, and...
Schools returning to virtual learning amid spike in COVID-19 cases
November 13th, 20200 LANSING — With COVID cases reaching record daily highs, many schools are experiencing outbreaks and returning to virtual learning as a result. An outbreak is defined by the state as “two or more cases with a link by place and time indicating a shared exposure outside of a household.” The Michigan Department of Health and......
As COVID-19 cases rise, Gov. Whitmer addresses common mistakes people make, while hospital leaders assess the situation
November 13th, 20200 LANSING — Governor Whitmer held a press conference to address the state’s rising COVID-19 cases as the state is reaching record numbers of new cases daily. “We are in the worst part of this pandemic to date,” she said. “This is the moment medical experts have been warning about and dreading since the beginning of the...U.S. government partners with pharmacy chains to increase COVID-19 vaccine access
November 12th, 20200 The U.S. government is partnering with regional pharmacy chains and independent community pharmacies to increase access to COVID-19 vaccines whenever they are made available, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Thursday. The partnership will cover about 60 percent of pharmacies throughout the 50 U.S. states,......
