What to know about vaccinating your kid, Enbridge defies Whitmer, restoring a piano from 1889
THURSDAY NEWS HIT - Vaccine eligibilities are slowly making their way down the ladder of age, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approving the Pfizer vaccine for kids age 12-15 on Tuesday and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave their blessing Wednesday.
As a result, Detroit will now be offering the vaccine by appointment or via walk-in to kids ages 12-17 at most of the same locations where doses are already available.
Parents must be in attendance when they bring their kid, have an ID to show, and sign a consent form before their kid gets vaccinated.
They also will not be eligible for the city's Good Neighbor Program that pays $50 for every person someone can convince to get the shot.
"For somebody 17 or under, you can't bring your own child and get a $50 gift card," said Mayor Mike Duggan I don't want there ever to be a question about somebody took their kid in to get vaccinated because they wanted $50."
Duggan spoke Wednesday about the city's offering shots to kids. Starting today, the Detroit Health Department will administer Pfizer vaccines at the following locations from Monday through Friday:
TCF Center, Northwest Activities Center, Samaritan Center, Farwell Recreation Center, Clemente Recreation Center, Clark Park, and the Straight Gate Church
Vaccine locations will also be offering shots Saturday from 9 a.m to 1 p.m. at the following locations:
Greater Grace Temple, Kemeny Recreation Center, Grace Community Church, New Providence Baptist Church, Greater Emmanuel COGIC, and the Galilee Baptist Church
Offering access for children to get the vaccine is only the first step the city will need to take if it's to convince the rest of its residents to get vaccinated - something that has eluded city officials since the vaccine first became available.
There's skepticism about the vaccine in Detroit and naturally, there's skepticism about allowing kids to get it as well.
As is the mantra that public health experts have continued to preach throughout the year, getting the vaccine is better than getting COVID-19. There is potential for long-term damage, spreading it to family, and death. Kids are not immune to these effects, even if they can better mitigate the severest effects of the disease.
Hundreds have been hospitalized in just Michigan alone after getting infected.
As Dr. Joneigh Khaldun noted yesterday, hundreds of kids have also been infected with MIS-C - a rare syndrome found in kids as a result of getting infected with the coronavirus.
The vaccine has also been shown to be 100% effective at preventing COVID-19 in kids. In a clinical trial prior to its approval, there were 1,100 children who received the vaccine dose and 1,100 who received a placebo dose. There were no cases among the group that got the vaccine and 16 cases among those that didn't get the vaccine.
In fact, kids showed a greater response to the vaccine with more antibodies in their immune system than adults after receiving the shot.
That doesn't mean there weren't side effects to the vaccine. Kids experienced similar effects as adults did, especially the ones after the 2nd dose. That includes temporary pain in the arm, fatigue, headache, and muscle pain.
Some less frequent effects included fever, joint pain, and nausea.
Bo Schembechler knew about alleged abuse
The famed football coach that led the Michigan Wolverines to 13 Big Ten titles during his tenure as coach was told by at least four people that Dr. Robert Anderson had molested them during routine physicals or other exams. That's according to the 256-page report released as part of an independent investigation into the allegations.
However, the report details Schembechler took no direct steps to end things and even told one man to "toughen up." The magnitude of allegations are not unlike the downfall of Joe Paterno at Penn State University after a sex abuse scandal involving his assistant coach.
Schembechler's lack of actions detailed in the report is among a slew of missed opportunities by the university and its staff to have corrected the actions that led to the sexual abuse of many affiliated with the university. "At this early stage, all I can really say with confidence is that it's a tragedy, it can't happen again, and we have more questions than answers until we learn more," said author John U. Bacon.
Many are even calling for the removal of the coach's statue on campus as a result of the report's lewd details.
- the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Enbridge defies Whitmer's order to shut down Line 5
The Canadian-based oil company has declined to shut down its pipeline that runs under the Straits of Mackinac, an openly defiant move against the Michigan governor who ordered Enbridge to cease all operations of its Line 5 pipeline on Wednesday.
The 180-day deadline Gretchen Whitmer gave to Enbridge to shut things down started with the revocation of an easement that originally granted authority to move unrefined oil through the state. However, Enbridge believes only the federal government can authorize such a move, believing its regulated by an agency in D.C., not in Lansing.
The impending clash between the state and the company represents the latest escalation in a battle between environmental safety and the economics of energy. Enbridge has the backing of numerous chambers of commerce and Republican lawmakers. It also argued the closure of a pipeline on the east coast this week revealed the dangers of shutting down sources of fuel.
But Whitmer says the cyberattack that shut down Colonial Pipeline is justification for avoiding a single energy supply, arguing the state and country need to diversify their fuel sources. Both parties are in mediation about where the case should be litigated.
Restoring a 1889 Steinway grand piano
The daughter of a famed composer from the Motown era is attempting to restore her dad's grand piano where he wrote much of the music he's now known for. Ed Nuccilli was a long-time Detroit jazz artist who appeared with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Sammy Davis Jr.
And now, Alicia wants to restore the prized possession where much of that composition happened. "He's got 400 charts, maybe more," she said.
The piano sat in storage at The Piano Place in Troy since she didn't have enough space at home. There, it collected dust and remained out of sight. So she instead decided it should be on display to honor her father's legacy. But to refurbish the classic instrument won't be cheap: $15,000.
"It’s like a puzzle you have to put all the pieces back in their places," said Richard Bittner, the owner of The Piano Place. If/when Alicia finishes refurbishing the instrument, she wants it placed at The Jazz Cafe at the Music Hall in Detroit.
What else we're watching
- Two men in their 20s were both shot in Redford Township earlier this morning. One of them died while the condition of the second victim is unknown.
- An invasive caterpillar species that has wreaked havoc on oak, aspen, and maple trees last year is back for more in 2021. Large numbers of them cause defoliation in some of Michigan's native plants and trees.
- Michigan did pretty well in the latest useless rankings of the Grossest States in the U.S., coming in 42nd place. The rankings were based on air quality, landfills, and people Googling "mayo recipes."
- Marshall School in Calhoun County on the west side of the state has gone completely remote due to a lack of bus drivers that are quarantining over COVID-19 exposure. The superintendent said there weren't enough substitutes to offset the lack of drivers.
- Michigan drivers won't need to worry about the Colonial Pipeline cyber-attack driving up gas prices since the company resumed operations yesterday. But that doesn't mean prices still won't rise before Memorial Day.
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Daily Forecast
If you liked yesterday's warmth, then you'll love the slightly higher and equally sunny conditions for today. And it only gets better with a straight week of 70 degree days on the way.
Facebook’s new feature will prompt users to read articles before sharing them
Facebook said on Monday it is testing a new feature in which it will send a prompt to users encouraging them to open and read an article before sharing it on the social media platform. Facebook says the new feature will activate if a user attempts to share a news article they have not read yet.
"If you go to share a news article link you haven’t opened, we’ll show a prompt encouraging you to open it and read it, before sharing it with others," the company wrote in a tweet.
The new feature follows a similar prompt initiated by Twitter last year for the same reasons.
When someone goes to retweet the link to an article on Twitter but hasn’t clicked through to the story, they may be shown a pop-up message asking if they would like to read it before retweeting.
Twitter announced in June 2020, that it began testing the feature on Android phones in English "to help promote informed discussion," the company said.