Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has unveiled a three-part plan to get COVID-19 vaccinations rolling in the city.
One major component is turning the TCF Convention Center garage into a drive-thru vaccination site. Starting next week, people 75 and older can get vaccinated there. So can people 65 and older so long as they accompany someone over 75. K-12 teachers and child care providers who wouldn’t otherwise get vaccinated through their employer are also eligible to get vaccinated at TCF.
Duggan said they’ll start taking appointments on Monday. The initial plan is to book appointments for up to 20,000 people over the following four weeks.
"That’s what the Governor believes she can get to us, if more vaccines come we’ll ramp it up. But that’s what we’re projecting to get,” Duggan said.
Duggan said the plan is to eventually allow more people to get vaccinated at TCF.
“We will ramp up as fast as the federal government sends us vaccines," he said. "We think we can do three, four, five-thousand a day, if the vaccines are delivered.”
The city will also start vaccinating first responders and bus drivers this week. They expect to complete that by the end of next week, and then hope to move on to other city workers.
And the Detroit Health Department will start doing onsite inoculations in homeless shelters and senior independent living facilities this week. Chief Health Officer Denise Fair said they hope to immunize people in all 89 of those facilities by the end of February.
Duggan emphasized that getting vaccinated is strictly voluntary. No one, including essential city workers, will face mandatory vaccination.
