Three new groups of individuals are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines at the TCF Center: Detroiters age 70 and older; U.S. Postal workers who live or work in Detroit; and City employees who are working at their regular job sites. These individuals may now schedule appointments to receive the vaccine.

The expanded list of eligible individuals was announced by Mayor Mike Duggan at his January 14 news briefing. The full list of eligible individuals now includes:

• Any resident of the City of Detroit who is age 70 or older (born in 1950 or earlier)
• Good neighbors, who drive anyone 70 or older to TCF Center, can get vaccinated at the same time – if they are 65 or older (born 1955 or earlier)
• K-12 and day care workers
• U.S. Post Office employees who live or work in Detroit
• Employees of the City of Detroit or City-related agencies who are working from their regular job site (but does not include City employees working from home at this time)

Since January 11, the City has scheduled nearly 6,000 of the 20,000 appointments available over the next four weeks. The first 400 residents were vaccinated January13. That number increased to 600 January 14 and will be up to 1,000 per day by next week. The current call volume for scheduling appointments allows the Mayor to lower the threshold to those 70 years of age or older.

Vaccinations will be administered by appointment only

Individuals will not be vaccinated without having first made an appointment and must show identification at the appointment. Eligible residents can call (313) 230-0505 between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday-Friday to make an appointment.  As of January 13, the average wait time for callers who made it through the initial prompts to determine their eligibility was about 15 minutes.

Individuals also will be provided specific instructions on when and where to arrive to the TCF Center, where they will be required to fill out a basic consent form. After receiving their vaccination, individuals will be required to remain in their vehicles inside the TCF garage for approximately 15 minutes to make sure they are not experiencing any side effects.

Second vaccination required

When they schedule their appointment, individuals will be provided two appointment dates, one for the first dose and another for the required second dose.  Call center staff will contact each scheduled person prior to their second appointment to remind them.

Detailed information on vaccines at the TCF Center is available at www.detroitmi.gov.

Detroit small businesses impacted by the coronavirus and State gatherings and mask order can apply for grants up to $20,000 through the Michigan Small Business Survival Grant Program. Detroit will receive $4 million of the $55 million allocated for the program across the state. The program was outlined January 14 by Mayor Mike Duggan and Kevin Johnson, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation President and CEO.

The program details are:

• Grants are for businesses with 1-100 employees that can demonstrate an income loss as a result of the mask and gatherings order.
• Grants of up to $20,000 may be awarded to eligible businesses that have been temporarily closed; $15,000 may be awarded for eligible businesses that has been partially closed, or are otherwise open.
• Grants may be used for payroll expenses, rent/mortgage payments, utility expenses and business-related costs.

The application for the grant goes live January 19 at 9 a.m. and closes January 22 at noon. Eligible Detroit small businesses can go to www.michiganbusiness.org/survival to apply. There is a link on degc.org and detroitmeansbusiness.org.

The Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) is one of 15 economic development organizations in Michigan selected to receive and distribute these funds. DEGC already has distributed more than $11 million in COVID relief funds to more than 1,700 small businesses in Detroit. More than 3/4 of Detroit small businesses that have received these grants are minority owned.

The City’s Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship (Detroit ACE) announced a yearlong celebration of Detroit’s contributions to American excellence and its plan to celebrate Black History Month. Mayor Mike Duggan and Rochelle Riley, Director of Detroit ACE, announced the grant award and outlined the campaign at a Jan. 14 news briefing.

The celebration initiative, called Undefeated, is possible with a $176,000 grant from the Kresge Foundation. It will give artists a chance to market their talents and products and make money while allowing ACE to showcase the city’s creative genius.

The Undefeated campaign will launch during Black History Month, which ACE is kicking off with a celebration Feb. 1-7 in nearly every creative genre. The celebration will include: artists’ interviews, dance performance by Detroit-Windsor Dance Academy, African and African American cooking demonstrations, films, poetry/rap/spoken word performances, art exhibit, celebration of fashion, musical performances, science/design/architecture presentations and comedy show.

The Kresge grant also will allow Detroit ACE to: hire a consultant to help develop a sustainability plan; fund free monthly business, digital and branding training for artists for a year; support public art across the city; and support creation of cultural and historic districts across the city.

In addition, Detroit ACE will launch new programming on City Channel 22, which will become Detroit A&E, with support from Walker-Miller Energy Services. Its first offering is the Black Heritage Film Series featuring iconic African-American films from the 1920s through the 1970s at 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For more information or to participate in programming, contact Rochelle Riley at detroitartsandculture@gmail.com.

The Detroit Health Department (DHD) is providing two ways for residents to report businesses that are violating COVID-19 safety restrictions. A form is available at detroitmi.gov/health or anyone can call 313-876-4000. Businesses found to be in violation will be subject to a fine of up to $1,000. Chief Public Health Director Denise Fair said a list of businesses in violation will be maintained on DHD’s website.

Fair also referred businesses to Detroit Means Business as a source of masks and gloves at no charge to small businesses. Further information on PPE distribution, as well as easy-to-understand guides and other resources related to the State’s health order, is available at www.detroitmeansbusiness.org.