Heat map showing vaccination rates by county. (Source: State of Michigan)
Michigan ranked close to the bottom of states in its vaccine rollout this summer, outpaced by 47 others, The Detroit News reports.
Since July 1, only two states have reported smaller percentage-point increases in the portion of their residents with at least one dose of vaccine, according to data tracked by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One of the two states is Vermont, which has led the nation in vaccinations and already has three-fourths of its population vaccinated.
The increase over the period was 4.2 percentage points. Forty-six states had increases of 5 percentage points or more. Only Ohio (4.8 percentage points), Michigan, West Virginia (3.7 points) and Vermont (2.6 points) didn't.
The slow growth leaves Michigan in the bottom 20 states for vaccine initiation, with 61 percent of residents over the age of 12 having received at least one dose of the vaccine.
The governor's office and the state health department did not comment on the vaccination statistics. A Republican lawmaker on the Whitmer panel leading the vaccine effort blamed misinformation spread online and "distrust" surrounding the state's $5 million vaccine lottery program.
