Morning Briefing March 26, 2021: 30% of Michiganders have received 1 COVID vaccine dose, lawmakers urge Michigan State University to release documents in Larry Nassar investigation

Here are this morning’s top stories

Jennifer Lira, left, a childcare specialist in the Spring Branch Independent School District, receives a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination shot from nurse Carolyn Roy during a vaccination drive for education workers Tuesday, March 16, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (David J. Phillip, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

30% of Michigan residents have received 1 COVID vaccine dose: Inside the data

Michigan has crossed another COVID-19 vaccination milestone: 30% of residents have received at least one vaccine dose.

According to MDHHS data, as of Thursday, 30.3% of Michigan residents have received at least one dose, while 17.4% are fully vaccinated. About 3.8 million doses have been administered in total.

Take a look at the data here.


Dominion Voting sues Fox for $1.6B over 2020 election claims

Dominion Voting Systems on Friday filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, arguing the cable news giant falsely claimed in an effort to boost faltering ratings that the voting company had rigged the 2020 election.

It’s the first defamation suit filed against a media outlet by the voting company, which was a target of misleading, false and bizarre claims spread by President Donald Trump and his allies in the aftermath of Trump’s election loss to Joe Biden. Those claims helped spur on rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in a violent siege that left five people dead, including a police officer. The siege led to Trump’s historic second impeachment.

Read the full story here.


Michigan COVID-19 vaccinations: How to find appointments, info on phases 💉


No shows at Ford Field Thursday leaves COVID-19 vaccines available for walk-ins

The mass vaccination site set up at Ford Field by FEMA has the capacity to vaccinate up to 6,000 people a day. For the last two days, the facility has not been close to capacity.

On Thursday there were no shows, meaning there was an excess of vaccine doses. FEMA and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services put out the word that if you could get to Ford Field by 6 p.m., they would vaccinate you -- no age restrictions applied.

See the story here.


Lawmakers urge Michigan State University to release Nassar documents in ‘incomplete’ investigation

Led by Michigan Reps. Ryan Berman and Julie Brixie and state Sen. Curtis Hertel, a coalition of nearly 50 Michigan state lawmakers are calling on the MSU Board of Trustees to waive privilege for about 6,000 documents that are related to the investigation of former MSU and USA Gymnastics sports physician Nassar.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has led the three-year investigation into the university and its role in Nassar’s crimes -- but in February of this year, Nessel said the investigation was going nowhere.

According to Nessel, the investigation is inconclusive due to the 6,000 documents that have not been released to investigators by the MSU Board of Trustees, citing attorney-client privilege.

Learn more here.


Weather: Wet, windy start to Friday


Coronavirus in Michigan 💉

The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 642,869 as of Thursday, including 15,984 deaths, state officials report.

Thursday’s update includes a total of 5,224 new cases -- the highest single-day case total since early December. Thursday’s update also includes 49 additional deaths, 30 of which were identified during a review of records.

On Wednesday, the state reported 637,645 total cases and 15,935 deaths.

Testing has been steady around 35,000 diagnostic tests reported per day on average, with the 7-day positive rate above 9.5% as of Thursday. The state has reported an up-tick in hospitalizations over the last three weeks.

Michigan’s 7-day moving average for daily cases was 3,493 on Thursday and has been consistently rising since the end of February. The 7-day death average was 22 on Thursday and has been flat for several weeks. The state’s fatality rate is 2.5%. The state also reports “active cases,” which were listed at 64,200 on Thursday. More than 562,000 have recovered in Michigan.

Michigan has reported more than 3.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered, as of Thursday, with 30.3% of residents having received at least one dose.

According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 30 million cases have been reported in the U.S., with more than 546,800 deaths reported from the virus.

Here’s a look at more of the data:


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About the Author:

Cassidy Johncox is a senior digital news editor covering stories across the spectrum, with a special focus on politics and community issues.