Every day we hear about rising cases and making sure we’re following CDC safety guidelines such as wearing masks, social distancing, and avoiding large gatherings with people from multiple households. On Sunday evening Governor Whitmer, along with the MDHHS, announced a new 3-week public safety order closing high schools and colleges for in-person instruction, halting dine-in service at restaurants and bars, and closing movie theaters, bowling alleys, and casinos. In effect until December 8, the order also limits indoor residential gatherings to two households at any one time.

Always looking for the positive in situations, most hospitals across Michigan still have more than 30 days of PPE supplies on hand. Some are sitting at 15-30 days or 7-4 days, and only a hand full are down to 4-6 days of supplies—all of which are part of larger health systems that appear to have adequate supplies at other facilities.

A second vaccine shows incredible results.

On Monday, Moderna announced that preliminary analysis shows its coronavirus vaccine is nearly 95% effective at preventing illness. Moderna’s vaccine uses mRNA technology similar to Pfizer’s vaccine covered in last week’s update. Experts expect both companies to file for emergency use authorization within the next few weeks. This means we could have two coronavirus vaccines available very soon—possibly the end of this year!

A third vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, has resumed clinical trials after a month-long regulatory hold by the FDA due to an unexplained illness in a patient from the UK. It’s expected to apply for emergency use authorization by the end of 2020. Finally, Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine entered late-stage testing in September and expects to apply for emergency use authorization in early 2021.

In case you missed it …

1. EYR has you covered if you’re not sure when, or if, you need to seek coronavirus testing or medical care. We’ve added an interactive assessment tool to our website. Check it out!
2. Also, Governor Whitmer has scheduled a news conference for 3:15 pm today to discuss continued efforts to slow the spread of the virus.

Extend Your Reach offers a full array of services—print, digital, marketing, transactional, postal, and disaster recovery. Let’s talk about how we can help you reach your customers and grow.  info@extendyourreach.com or 800-887-1959.

Stay safe!

Jay Gillotte
CEO, Extend Your Reach