Baraga County Tells Whitmer: We’re Done
Lansing Lines is presented in cooperation with MIRS, a Lansing-based news and information service.

The sum of Baraga County government passed a resolution telling Gov. Gretchen Whitmer it will no longer be participating in any more shutdown orders designed to protect the population from COVID-19.

All five county commissioners signed a resolution Jan. 11 along with the county’s sheriff, prosecutor, clerk, and treasurer that “we have no intention of participating in the unconstitutional destruction of our citizen’s economic security and liberty.”

The county officials also said they will “take no action whatsoever in furtherance of this terribly misguided agenda.”

County Commission Chair Bill Rolof said the people in his county are beyond upset. Businesses are being shut down, likely to never reopen again. Meanwhile, they feel as if they have taken every safety precaution voluntarily.

“Enough is enough,” Rolof said. “The people up here are ready to move on.”

The roughly 8,500-person county has had 476 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began and 29 deaths. That’s roughly 5.6% of the population to test positive, putting it 18th among the state’s 83 counties in contraction rates.

Still, MIRS found other Upper Peninsula counties are in the same boat, tired of the Governor and her administration putting what they feel are unrealistic restrictions on their ability to exercise life as they please.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) current restrictions on restaurants, bars, and some entertainment venues is set to expire on Friday. Baraga County officials said in its “Baraga County Manifesto” that the restrictions Michigan has placed on it “have not been seen in North America since the days of King George III and the American Revolution.”

The officials say the restrictions have treated human beings like “herd animals, which arbitrarily pick economic winners and losers.”

“The pandemic rages on and Lansing’s failed efforts to control the spread of the virus is blamed on the people themselves rather than the scientific community’s admitted lack of data and understanding of COVID-19,” the resolution reads.

Judge Dismisses Wellness Group’s Suit Challenging Mask Mandate
A Grand Haven-based wellness group’s lawsuit challenging the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services mask mandate was dismissed Jan. 11.

Court of Claims Judge Christopher M. Murray granted the state’s request to dismiss Semlow Peak Performance Chiropractic’s suit that alleged Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is using the executive branch to issue and enforce emergency orders the Michigan Supreme Court deemed illegal.

Murray wrote that state statute grants DHHS Director Robert Gordon authority to establish procedures during an epidemic “to ensure continuation of essential public health services.”

“The mask mandate is a procedure that can be used to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus, and thus, it is one that can be implemented under the statute to help “ensure continuation of essential public health services,'” Murray noted. “This conclusion is not only consistent with a plain reading of the statute, but it is also consistent with (according to defendant Gordon) protecting the public health and welfare.”

Ottawa County’s Department of Public Health issued a cease-and-desist order against Semlow for failing to adhere to the face mask requirement.

Semlow sued, alleging Gordon lacks authority to create the mask mandate as Michigan Compiled Laws 333.2253 only allows him to “prohibit public gatherings.”

Gordon’s orders followed a Michigan Supreme Court decision that held the 1945 Emergency Powers of Governor Act violates the Constitution because it purports to indefinitely delegate legislative power to the executive branch.

COVID Relief Funds To Be Held Until Whitmer Does More
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer must take more steps to reopen Michigan’s economy before the Legislature “can have meaningful conversations” about allocating federal COVID-19 relief funds, House Appropriations Chair Thomas Albert (R-Lowell) said in a statement released Jan. 8.

“I can’t envision starting conversations about how to allocate additional federal COVID-19 relief funds until the Governor shows more willingness to restore the economy and a sense of normalcy,” Albert stated.

He said he intends to “employ the checks and balances” of government and contended that restaurant workers have no idea if they’ll be able to return to work when the current order to pause indoor dining expires Jan. 15.

“We will not simply hand over billions of taxpayer dollars to extend the current way of governing,” Albert stated.

Whitmer’s response came in a press conference that afternoon.

“I’m sure that the representative isn’t implying that he would withhold hundreds of millions of dollars for vaccinations, for testing, for education for our kids, for eviction relief.

“I’m sure that they wouldn’t say, ‘Unless you open restaurants, we won’t give $90 million for vaccine deployment, or $575 million to support COVID testing and tracing efforts and mitigation efforts.’ This federal funding also includes $665 million in eviction diversion and rental assistance to help people who are struggling to stay in their homes. I hope that is not what they are threatening because that would be just devastating to so many people in our state,” Whitmer said.

The governor said representatives should get “the benefit of the doubt” because they might not know what all is included in the federal relief package. It includes, she said, $125 million for emergency education relief, millions for access to broadband, and $287 million for emergency childcare funds.

“It is my hope that they are not suggesting now we should start negotiating away public health measures to keep people safe and hold these things hostage, because there are a lot of people in our state struggling and this federal relief is necessary. I’m hopeful they will get to work and get this allocated as quickly as possible,” Whitmer said.

The governor took issue with the contention that few outbreaks have been associated with bars and restaurants.

“What we have seen, the studies have shown that restaurants and bars are places where we see many outbreaks. Our tracing capabilities are underwhelming on that front, and so I think that is part of the data issue that we haven’t seen translate, and that is why we have continued the policy . . . The fact of the matter is, the studies show that that is where we have seen the highest risk,” Whitmer said.

Albert’s statement also drew reaction from House Minority Leader Donna Lasinski (D-Scio Twp.).

“It’s totally irresponsible to even suggest holding hostage much-needed relief when vaccine distribution is the most important thing to getting the economy moving again,” Lasinski said. “I call on House Republicans to release the federal funds now for vaccines that can save lives and help reopen our economy.”

In Lasinski’s press release, Rep. Joe Tate (D-Detroit) is referenced as the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.

“The only thing the #MIGOP won’t block when it comes to COVID is the virus itself by wearing masks,” said Lonnie Scott, of Progress Michigan. “Holding up Michigan tax dollars and federal funds for COVID testing, vaccine distribution, education, keeping people in their homes, childcare, and feeding hungry kids will put millions of people in harm’s way. We all must work together to fight this pandemic that has killed more than 13,000 people in our state. Republicans should stop using relief from a deadly virus as a political bargaining chip.”

But Albert got support from freshman Rep. Andrew Fink (R-Hillsdale).

“Thousands of restaurant workers across Michigan are in dire straits,” Fink said. “They want to work, but they can’t . . . Workers in the restaurant industry have proven that they can operate safely with proper protocols in place for both employees and customers. They should be allowed to work. I hope the governor will reassess her misguided decision and consider their struggles.”

Whitmer: MI Has ‘Pushed Out Every Single Vaccine That We Have Received’
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Jan. 8 she wants to be “crystal clear” in saying that the state has “pushed out every single vaccine that we have received.”

After a week of criticism from many Republican sources about the speed of the state’s vaccination campaign, Whitmer at the end of her press conference addressed what people see on Michigan’s COVID-19 dashboard—which as of today shows 725,850 vaccines distributed and 195,240 doses administered—and that it “doesn’t tell the whole story.”

Whitmer said the state gets about 60,000 vaccines from Pfizer a week, and that “100 percent of those are shipped out upon receipt.” She said that’s why Michigan is ranked among the highest in getting vaccines out the door.

As for the Moderna vaccine, all of those doses are shipped directly to pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens, and that those vaccines don’t come to the state of Michigan.

The governor said, “daily shots in the arms have climbed considerably over the last week” and Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said the more than 24,800 doses recorded as administered on Wednesday is the “highest number yet.”

Whitmer said “this is a process that has to take a little bit of time” and that every state is in the same situation Michigan is in, and that “we’re all at about the same level.”

Khaldun, meanwhile, has now received her second COVID-19 vaccine dose, making the vaccine 95 percent effective against the disease, according to a press release issued by Henry Ford Hospital, where Khaldun is also an emergency medicine physician.

The criticism from Republicans continued today, with Sen. Ruth Johnson (R-Holly) saying Whitmer and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon “are failing to get the COVID-19 vaccine to Michigan families” and Sen. Dale Zorn (R-Ida) calling it “an outrage that less than 2 percent of Michigan residents have been given the vaccine while over half a million doses sit unused in storage.”

Zorn went as far as to call for Gordon’s resignation.

Meanwhile, the state reported 3,625 more confirmed COVID-19 cases and 38 more deaths, bringing the totals to 516,376 cases and 13,132 deaths.

Slow Fed Numbers Fingered For Low Vaccinating Rates
Reports suggesting Michigan is behind most other states in vaccinating its population is a result of out-of-date federal stats, according to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun.

In fact, Whitmer and Khaldun said the opposite is true. They were informed Jan. 6 by the CDC that Michigan is now in the top five states in the entire country when it comes to the percent of the population who have been vaccinated compared to other states.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services later issued a press release saying that CDC data now indicates that Michigan is 11th in the nation for the number of first doses administered to date, and 10th in doses distributed.

However, on a per capita basis of 100,000 people, Michigan was 29th in distribution and 40th in administration of vaccines.

Before Jan. 6, some conservative groups had pointed out that Michigan ranked 44th in terms of people immunized on a per capita basis. A Detroit Free Press report cited CDC data from earlier this week that said Michigan was the seventh worst in getting the vaccine out.

And the state’s own vaccination dashboard showed that as of Jan. 4, 26 percent of Michigan’s vaccine doses shipped out had made it into people’s arms. With today’s numbers at 520,150 doses shipped and 152,511 doses listed as administered to people, the percentage is now at 29 percent.

A pair of Republican lawmakers – Reps. Graham FILLER (R-DeWitt) and Mary WHITEFORD (R-Casco Twp.) — continued the criticism of the state’s rollout, calling for the vaccines to be expedited and for a public schedule to be released.

“Our state is mangling the rollout. It’s inexcusable. The governor and her administration must do better,” Filler said in a statement. “The governor has shut us down and stated things will open up once the vaccine is available. Now, a vaccine is available, and she won’t follow through on the plan to get it out.”

When asked how the state went from one of the slowest vaccine distribution states to the one of the best, Whitmer replied, “We weren’t one of the slowest,” adding that the CDC website “is just not up to date.”

DHHS spokesperson Lynn Sutfin said, “The CDC is only updating its site three times a week” and that it doesn’t reflect “records of doses with incomplete provider information. These are providers that may have not completed the federal enrollment process.”

The governor also was asked about the gap between the doses shipped and doses administered in Michigan and said, “what appears to be a simple math problem is much more complicated than that.”

Khaldun said one of the challenges has included starting the vaccination campaign over the holiday season, and now, she said she’s hearing “anecdotally from the front lines that people are now . . . raising their hand and saying they want a vaccine.”

The chief medical executive said, “we obviously want the speed of vaccinations to increase across the entire state” and added later that “it’s fair to say that no one in this country is pleased with the speed of vaccinations and how they rolled out.”

Whitmer said, “There are not enough vaccines coming from the feds” and if the state meets its goal of using 90 percent of the weekly distributed vaccines within a week of receiving them, “we will likely run out each week,” but she added that’s “a good thing” because it means people are getting vaccinated faster.

The governor said her administration has “been working 24/7 to make sure that we are distributing . . . these vaccines that are safe and effective.”