Michigan doctors and public health officials are encouraging parents to protect their 12-15 year old children with Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible.

The vaccine was authorized for emergency use in this age group earlier this week by the Food and Drug Administration, and it was endorsed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

The Michigan House Overnight Committee met on Thursday morning to discuss a bill that would ban the state government's use of a vaccine passport. This follows last Thursday's hearing, wherein some speakers promoted conspiracy theories and misinformation.

Committee Chair Steven Johnson (R-Wayland) presented changes to House Bill 4667 today, including exempting the CDC immunization card from the definition of passport.

A state Senate committee issued a subpoena Thursday to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. It requires the department to share tens of thousands of documents related to the state’s response to the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes and other congregate care facilities.

More than 5,000 people in those facilities have died from COVID. That's just a little less than a third of Michigan's total COVID deaths.

Operators of domestic abuse hotlines across the state say more women are calling them in crisis, as pandemic stress has led to more violence at home.

Eric Stiles, a program director with the Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, says they’ve documented an increase in survivors of abuse who have called their statewide hotline in 2021, compared to last year.

The head of a major hospital in Windsor, Ontario wants Michigan to give up some of its surplus COVID-19 vaccines.

David Musyj, CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital, has submitted an emergency application to Health Canada’s special access program. Health Canada is the country’s equivalent of the U.S Food and Drug Administration, and the program allows Canada to procure life-saving drugs abroad if they’re in short supply there.

There will be no Ann Arbor Art Fair for the second year in a row due to the pandemic.

The directors of the three fairs that comprise the annual event held each July in Ann Arbor made the joint decision, saying they couldn’t find a way to make it happen under the State of Michigan’s pandemic restrictions.