Whitmer: 'No plans to do any broad mandates' around vaccines, masks in schools

[MichMan]

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is not considering a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for state workers now that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration granted the first full authorization Monday of a coronavirus vaccine.

"There are no plans to do any broad mandates," she said Monday, referring to her decision not mandate vaccines or require masks at Michigan schools.

"Those who were uneasy because of the early use authorization status of the vaccine maybe now will have a greater confidence in the fact that these vaccines are safe and they work."

t's the latest in a series of statements Whitmer or members of her administration have made to rebuff the idea of new pandemic regulations in Michigan. While the governor and state health department leaders have argued mask mandates and capacity restrictions saved lives in the first months of the pandemic, since January the Whitmer administration has promoted a message that revolves around personal responsibility.

Whitmer's goal was to get at least one dose of coronavirus shots into the arms of 70% of the state's 16 and older population, but the state has yet to reach that benchmark despite incentives that included a statewide lottery-style raffle in July.

As of Monday, the state's vaccination rate stood at 65.2% — below the national rate of vaccine uptake, which is 73%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



https://www.freep.com/story/news/2021/08/23/whitmer-wont-require-covid-vaccines-masks-michigan-state-workers/8238325002/