Michigan Adds 5,157 New Coronavirus Cases, 61 Deaths Friday

Michigan added 5,157 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday while also reporting that 61 more people in the state have died from the respiratory illness.

State health officials reported the new numbers during their daily update of Michigan COVID-19 data. The new cases and deaths reported Friday brings Michigan's total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 426,294. The coronavirus death toll in Michigan is presently at 10,456, according to the state.

The state reported nearly 6,000 new COVID-19 cases and 182 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday. As of Saturday, more than 197,000 people in the state had recovered from the virus, according to state health officials.

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Over 71.2 million cases of the coronavirus have been reported worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. The majority of those cases (more than 16 million) have been reported in the U.S., where Michigan is ranked in the Top 10 in both reported coronavirus cases and deaths.

Now, states are determining how to roll out distribution plans for a pair of COVID-19 vaccines.

Michigan health officials have set a goal of vaccinating 70 percent of Michiganders 18 years of age or older, about 5.4 million adults, by the end of 2021.

Health officials in Michigan said the state is following the CDC recommendations for prioritization of distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines. That means that in Michigan, the first COVID-19 vaccines will go to people serving in health care settings who have direct or indirect exposure to patients, according to the vaccine distribution plan released by the state health department Friday.

Some workers in essential and critical industries and people who may be at extreme risk for the coronavirus also will be among the first to receive the vaccine, officials said.

Read More: Michigan Releases Plan For Who Will Get COVID-19 Vaccine First

COVID-19 Vaccine Survey

While some Michiganders remain cautious regarding the COVID-19 vaccines, the majority of those who took a recent survey released by Patch said they would be interested in being vaccinated as soon as possible.

The majority of those who said they'd get the vaccine (over 62 percent) said they would do so at their first opportunity. However, 22 percent said they would get it after it has been administered enough to know it's safe. Nearly 12 percent of those who took the survey said they would not get the vaccine.

Read more about how people responded to the survey here.

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