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Ford Field makes final preparations, processing thousands of vaccines

By Veronica Meadows and Jack Nissen
Published  March 23, 2021 8:36am EDT
Coronavirus Vaccine
FOX 2 Detroit

DETROIT - Medical staff at Ford Field are putting together the final pieces of preparation at the venue ahead of the center's mass vaccine rollout tomorrow. 

As part of a test run to make sure things go smoothly at the site, officials are processing thousands of vaccines. 

From an optics standpoint, a lot is riding on the success of Ford Field's vaccine clinic. The collaboration of several levels of government along with private company partnerships has resulted in the country's first mass vaccine site, which will inoculate 335,000 people over the next two months.

Ford Field staff processing thousands of vaccines ahead of first day

Medical staff are putting the final touches on preparations ahead of the first day of vaccinations at Ford Field, where 6,000 people will be administered shots a day.

Appointments have been filled based on both eligibility and the social vulnerability index, which identifies population groups with a higher rate of comorbidities. The people with appointments were randomly selected and invited based on if they (a) qualified and (b) lived in the Zip codes and that are prioritized by SVI 

That eligibility list includes any resident over 50 and any resident over 16 with a medical or physical disability. That will soon expand in April to include everyone else. 

In total, staff will be processing between 2,500 and 2,600 vaccinations in their test run.

On Monday, Mayor Mike Duggan announced that Detroit would be expanding eligibility to any resident that works at a job site in the city. The recent expansion is part of a race that's speeding up between vaccines and infections - which have increased in the city.

"Our numbers are going in the wrong direction," said Chief Public Health Officer Denise Fair. "The biggest proportion of these cases is among 20-29-year-olds."

RELATED: Detroit expands COVID-19 eligibility to people working in city as cases continue to rise

Additionally, student-athletes in high school have also contributed to the growing number of cases within schools - a trend also identified by state health officials around Michigan.

According to the city health department's website, new cases have doubled in the past two weeks. Deaths remain low, however.