Health and Welfare

As the weather cools and viruses circulate, health experts note that Michiganders have three different vaccines to protect them from respiratory illness.

The newly formulated COVID vaccine is designed to take a swing at more recent variants as the fall respiratory season arrives. Final approval and guidance from the CDC is expected on Tuesday.

Access to the drug should increase in coming days after thousands of kits are shipped. Michigan has allowed over-the-counter sales since 2017, but not all pharmacies carried the drug that reverses overdoses.

The vast majority lost coverage because they had not filled out and returned state forms required to maintain enrollment. More are likely to be kicked off over the next year.

Up to 10,000 older Americans die per year from the RSV virus, which made the approval of the first vaccine a breakthrough. But a new U-M survey shows many either don’t know or don’t care about the vaccine.

The identification of a new subvariant abroad and in Michigan comes as the state and nation report small increases in cases and hospitalizations from the virus and fewer deaths.

The number of children attending school in buildings with vaccination rates less than 90 percent has doubled since 2015. Check out the rate of elementary schools statewide.