ADNAN MUNKARAH

Henry Ford Hospital officials spoke Thursday about COVID in Michigan, providing an update on the rapid spread of omicron and revealing that there are both hundreds of patients hospitalized and hundreds of employees out due to the virus.

Officials from Henry Ford Health System provided an update Wednesday on the state of COVID in Michigan, saying the current situation is a “crisis” and worse than a year ago.

Dr. Adnan Munkarah with Henry Ford Health System said there’s no other way to put it: Our COVID numbers in Michigan are going in the wrong direction.

Here are tonight's top stories.

Officials from Henry Ford Health System provided an update Wednesday on the state of COVID in Michigan, saying the current situation is a “crisis” and worse than a year ago.

Officials with the Henry Ford Health System held a virtual news conference Wednesday morning to provide an update on COVID-19 hospitalizations, vaccinations and the virus’ impact on operations.

The Henry Ford Health system provided an update on Wednesday (Sept. 1) on the impact of COVID on Michigan.

Here are this morning's top stories.

With more than half of all Michiganders still not being fully vaccinated, Dr. Adnan Munkarah said his colleagues are now fearing the worst.

Medical leaders at the Henry Ford Health System are calling for all people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Here are this morning's top stories.

The Henry Ford Health System has been a leader in combating the misinformation being spread about COVID vaccines.

The spread of coronavirus is not slowing down in Michigan.

DETROIT – It has been a whole year since the first two cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Michigan. On Sunday’s episode of Flashpoint we took a look at what the country and world has learned throughout the year in addition to how to move forward from this point. A new study this week found the likely reason the United States leads the world in COVID-19 deaths is because the country has the world’s most overweight population. There was also a discussion on how stakeholders in the education crisis feel about in-person learning resuming. Related: Nearly 1 year since first cases of coronavirus confirmed in MichiganSegment OneLori Higgins, Bureau Chief for Chalkboard Detroit and Chastity Pratt, Education Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal.

Michigan healthcare officials will start distributing the vaccine to frontline workers. Ascension Hospital in Warren and five hospitals in the Henry Ford Health System will be able to store the vaccines in super cold freezers once they arrive. Henry Ford Health System CCO Dr. Adnan Munkarah said the they will be storing the vaccines at its hospitals in Detroit, Wyandotte, Macomb, West Bloomfield and Jackson. They have about 11,000 frontline workers who need vaccines, so a lottery system was set up and the first 1,000 workers know who they are. Frontline workers are asking for all the help they can get to keep that number down.

COVID-19 continues to cause havoc in our areas and is now affecting hundreds of workers throughout the Henry Ford Health System. Henry Ford Health said 576 of about 33,000 employees are out of work because they either have COVID-19 or been exposed to coronavirus. READ: CDC releases new, shortened quarantine options for certain COVID-19 exposureHenry Ford Health System Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Adnan Munkarah said they are in quarantine. “It’s in the double-digit and it continues to be concerning, which means the number of affected people in the community continues to be high,” said Dr. Munkarah. Henry Ford Health System said two of its six hospitals are more than 90% full, those are in Macomb and West Bloomfield.

And we must act as though anyone we are around may be infected.”The cases reported Saturday trailed only the record 10,322 cases reported Tuesday. ___ROME — Italy had more than 21,000 daily coronavirus cases and added 662 deaths in the last 24 hours. There were 14 more deaths reported Saturday, bringing the total to 1,874 confirmed deaths. Russia’s 2.4 million confirmed cases is the fourth-largest caseload in the world behind the United States, India and Brazil. ___NEW DELHI — India has registered 36,652 confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours.

DETROIT – The first COVID-19 vaccine could potentially be rolled out by mid-December, but local health system leaders voiced their concern Friday about recent polls that suggest people may be reluctant to get it. In a briefing Friday, Henry Ford’s chief clinical officer Dr. Adnan Munkarah said addressing those concerns is a top priority. “People ask me am if I’m going to take the vaccine, I’m going to say, ‘Absolutely, yes. The minute the FDA has us gives us the proof that there’s a vaccine that is effective and safe,’” Munkarah said. But there is a concern that many in the community will be hesitant to take the vaccine.

DETROIT – There is new hope that a coronavirus vaccine is closer than ever to making its way to Metro Detroit. Henry Ford Hospital said it could see its first doses being delivered in upcoming weeks, and they have the specialized freezers and equipment ready to go for when a COVID-19 vaccine arrives. Additionally, doses of Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody treatment have arrived. Dr. Adnan Munkarah, the chief clinical officer of the Henry Ford Health System, discussed the antibody treatment and preparing for the arrival of vaccines. We’re learning more about how quickly the coronavirus vaccine could be rolled out.

DETROIT – Michigan announced 8,516 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, smashing the previous single-day record by more than 1,500 cases. A week ago Friday, Michigan reported 3,700 new cases, so the total has more than double. Dr. Adnan Munkarah, Henry Ford Health top doctor, is worried about the possibility of COVID-19 deaths jumping. “From a national data perspective, we’ve had close to 1,200 deaths in the past 24 hours,” Munkarah said. “In fact, in 100% of our testing, we weren’t getting back the results within 24 hours,” Munkarah said.

DETROIT The Henry Ford Health System is seeking 30,000 volunteers to participate in its Moderna vaccine study to determine whether a two-dose vaccine could prevent COVID-19 infection in those who are exposed. The National Institutes of Health officials said Henry Ford Health is the only hospital in Michigan selected as a trial site for phase three of the Moderna mRNA-1273 Coronavirus Efficacy (COVE) vaccine study. Henry Ford Health System is proud to be part of the fight against this deadly virus, said Adnan Munkarah, executive vice president and chief clinical officer of Henry Ford Health System. Our best hope of controlling COVID-19 is with a vaccine, said Dr. Marcus Zervos, division chief of Infectious Disease for Henry Ford Health System. Each participants health and safety are our top priorities, Munkarah said.

DETROIT – The Henry Ford Health System reports, as of Tuesday, they are caring for 752 COVID-19 patients at their various hospitals. UPDATE -- April 8, 2020: 853 coronavirus patients discharged, number in hospital dropsHere’s some of the updated numbers released by Henry Ford Health System on April 7:Total # Henry Ford Health System patients who tested negative, 5,954. Total # Henry Ford Health System patients who tested positive, 3,902. Total # Henry Ford Health System patients currently admitted, 752. Total # Henry Ford Health System patients discharged home in last 30 days, 778.