The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department reported five new cases of COVID-19 today, August 2, as the Delta variant spreads throughout the nation, particularly among unvaccinated populations. The last time Leelanau County reported more than five COVID-19 cases in a single day was May 4 (when eight cases were reported). That was nearly three months ago.
Leelanau County is the first county in Michigan to cross the 70 percent threshold for residents, 16 and up, who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In Leelanau, 75 percent of residents have received at least one shot.
The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department is offering multiple opportunities for walk-in vaccinations on Friday, May 21, as well as easy appointment scheduling that can be found at www.bldhd.org.
Yesterday, Leelanau County passed the 70% mark for all eligible residents age 16 and over who have received their initial dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. “This is a major accomplishment for our county to be the first in the state to reach that level of protection,” said Lisa Peacock, health officer with the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department.
Fifty-three percent of eligible residents, 16 and older, in Leelanau County are fully vaccinated with either two shots from Pfizer or Moderna or one shot from Johnson & Johnson, according to a Michigan.gov dashboard. That’s the highest percentage of any county in the state. More than 67 percent have received at least one dose.
Josephine Gorman, a 16-year-old student from St. Francis High School in Traverse City received the 15,000th dose of a COVID-19 vaccine administered by the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department. Gorman got the shot Friday, April 23, at Glen Lake School, accompanied by her mother Jennifer.
To mitigate Michigan’s worst-in-the-nation surge of COVID-19, the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department is offering free Coronavirus rapid testing on April 26 at Suttons Bay Middle School and Pfizer vaccinations on April 22, 23, 24 and 27 throughout the two-county region for anyone age 16 or older.
In prosperous, care-free times, public health workers seem almost invisible. Because their job is to prevent health crises from happening, they remain in the background. Few people learn about their true impact. But when the COVID-19 global pandemic officially hit Michigan in March 2020, the public health department, nurses, doctors, and hospital workers suddenly played an outsized role in coaching us on how to survive this deadly pathogen, which as of April 12 has infected 1,107 in Leelanau County and claimed 16 lives. Here are the stories of a few local public health workers who have led our community response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department will offer a COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Tuesday, April 13, at Frankfort Trinity Lutheran Church, and provide Moderna shots. As of Monday evening, appointments were still available. Click here to schedule your slot.
Faced with spiking COVID-19 numbers in Empire’s 49630 zip code and throughout Michigan, Empire Asparagus Festival organizer Paul Skinner has decided that he will almost definitely postpone the 2021 festival. The Empire Asparagus Festival, which is typically held in mid-May, just as the asparagus crop shoots out of the ground, was also canceled in 2020.