• Smoot brings national reputation and relationships to City’s effort to bolster programs that impact Detroiters and neighborhoods
• Priority areas will include workforce and economic development, education, infrastructure and home repair programs

Mayor Mike Duggan has named Julianna Smoot as the city’s new Chief Development Officer. Smoot served for years as the chief fundraiser for former President Barack Obama and is widely considered one of the country’s most successful fundraisers in history. She will bring a wealth of knowledge to a team that already has brought to the city well over $1 billion in corporate and philanthropic funds, as well as state and federal grants, to help pay for everything from new buses to revitalized parks to neighborhood redevelopment, affordable housing and more.

“We are exceptionally fortunate to have someone of Julianna’s experience join our team to help build and support programs that impact the lives of Detroiters every day,” said Mayor Mike Duggan. “So much of what we’ve been able to accomplish as a city has been thanks to the organizations that help fund these programs. I’m confident that Julianna will help take our already strong development team to a new level.”

Smoot, who lives in Detroit, is the co-founder of Blue Lake Strategies, a full-service public affairs consulting firm that helps companies and organizations navigate public policy and build their strategic positioning in Washington and state capitals. She was a key player in both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns and his administration. President Obama tasked Julianna with key roles in his administration. She served as Chief of Staff to the U.S. Trade Representative, White House Social Secretary and Co-Chair of the Presidential Inaugural Committees in 2009 and 2013.

In her new role with the City of Detroit, Smoot and her colleagues are looking ahead to a set a list of key goals:

• Home repair initiatives for Detroit homeowners
• Public Safety initiatives to reduce violence and improve traffic safety
• Infrastructure investments, including access to broadband internet, water & sewer upgrades, street redesigns and the Joe Louis Greenway
• Business support through job training for Detroiters and land assembly, as well as increasing entrepreneurship opportunities through Motor City Match
• Pre-K and Afterschool programming, including expansion of the city’s GOAL Line to service more areas of the city

“Mayor Duggan and his team have been doing extraordinary work to support and lift up Detroit residents in ways it never had before,” said Smoot. “A big part of that progress has been the outside funding partners that have stepped up to support the Mayor’s key initiatives. I’m honored to have the opportunity to build on this work to help the City reach even more Detroiters and impact more neighborhoods.”

Smoot replaces Sirene Abou-Chakra, who left recently for a Harvard University Center Public Leadership Fellowship. She is a graduate of Smith College and currently serves on the Board of the Obama Foundation. Smoot will begin her new position on Tuesday, September 28.

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In response to the recently discovered elevated levels of lead in the City of Wayne’s municipal water, Wayne County is partnering with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to provide free water filters to all effected residents.

“The safety of residents is always a top priority for me; even more so when the health of our children is at jeopardy. Lead exposure has been proven to have serious and lasting effects on children, creating the urgent need for action and resources,” said Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans.

Residents affected by elevated lead levels can pick up their free water filter(s) on Saturday, October 16^th at Wayne County’s Health Administration Building (HAB), 33030 Van Born Rd, Wayne, MI 48184 from 10:00am – 2:00pm. This is a drive-thru service; residents should enter the HAB garage from Venoy Road and exit onto Van Born Road.

Lead Testing, Covid-19 Vaccinations & Other Immunizations Will Also be Available

In addition to water filter pick up, residents can also take advantage of the county’s walk-in clinic for COVID-19 vaccinations. For residents wishing to receive a COVID vaccine first or second dose, vaccines are available for all of the vaccine manufacturers. In addition, booster shots of the, the Pfizer vaccination will be available for:

• Immunocompromised residents ages 12 years of age or older; and
• Priority Population aged 65 years and older; aged 18 years and older in long-term care settings; and aged 18-64 years with underlying medical conditions, at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting

Walk-in childhood back-to-school immunizations will also be available, which includes Measles (MMR), Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Varicells (MMRV), Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (tDAP), Chicken Pox, Haemophilus Influenzae (HIB), Hepatitis A (Hep A) ,Hepatitis B (Hep B), Human Papillomavirus (HPV9), Polio, Meningitis Vaccine (MCV4). On-site lead testing for children age 6 months to 6 years and adults as well as seasonal flu vaccine for children 6 months to 18 years will also be available.

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62 CBS Detroit
Oct. 7, 2021
April Morton  

As the future of EV’s increases, Macomb County is making sure they’re ready to receive them. As the world starts to transition into an EV era, Macomb County Executive says the county will make the experience convenient for drivers.

“We understand it’s coming I think that’s where the industry is headed they all made that commitment and they’re very vocal about that, that’s where they are headed with the car industry so we need to make sure that we’re prepared,” said Mark Hackel, Macomb County Executive.

Hackel says the county is advancing infrastructure in southeast Michigan and preparing for EV’s is a major piece of this work. During a press event on Thursday, he toured a few EV’s and got a feel for how the charging stations work. He says this is history in the making.

“Great grandparents probably when they were first buying cars, the question can you get a car then how do you find a gas station, so it became a matter of convenience for us and everywhere you turn you see 4 or 5 gas stations,” said Hackel.

Hackel says soon enough this will be the case with EV charging stations, these located at the Towns Mart Marathon in Washington Township are makes 29 total in the county.

“got to believe somewhere down the road 15, 20 years from now this will be something that will be common place, not just in Macomb county but the entire State and probably throughout the country,” Hackel said.

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Administrator Will Develop Strategy and Convene Leaders to Help County Reach Post-Secondary Certification and Degree Goals

Bridge Michigan
Oct. 18, 2021
Robin Erb

The federal government is poised to sign off on vaccine boosters made by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson as early as this week, paving the way for greater protection against COVID for hundreds of thousands more people in Michigan.

The anticipated approval of the boosters — following approval of the Pfizer booster last month — is sure to spawn questions about who is eligible, how to get one, whether they can be mixed and other key questions, which are answered below.

Late last week, the Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee recommended that anyone who received a one-dose J & J vaccine at least two months ago get a booster shot. The same panel recommended half-dose boosters for those who received Moderna vaccines earlier this year.

With three different U.S.-approved vaccine manufacturers, there are limits in who gets what, differing waiting periods, and adjustments in dose amounts.

“I get a lot of questions,” Tiffany Haddad-Azzi, a regional pharmacy manager for 22 Rite Aid stores stretching along Michigan’s I-94 corridor, said of the difference in boosters.

“What we do know about COVID vaccines is that they are working,” Haddad-Azzi said. “We do know that they’re helping (reduce) the amount of deaths and hospitalizations from COVID.”

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis published in September found all three vaccines strong in preventing hospitalizations, although Moderna’s had the most robust response. The Moderna vaccine was shown to be 93 percent effective against hospitalizations from March 11 to August 15 compared to the Pfizer vaccine (88 percent) and the J & J vaccine (71 percent).

“But as far as how often we have to get it and how long antibodies last from the shots — we just have to keep studying it,” Haddad-Azzi said.

Here are answers to some common questions about the boosters:

When is the Moderna booster coming?

Roughly 3.9 million Michigan residents have received the two-dose Moderna vaccine, according to state data.

The FDA and the CDC still must weigh in on the panel’s recommendations before the Moderna vaccine booster is approved. The FDA usually follows panel recommendations on COVID vaccines quickly. An advisory committee to the CDC is scheduled to meet Oct. 20-21.

The Moderna vaccine, like the one from Pfizer, is an mRNA vaccine and, like Pfizer, is given in a two-dose series after being authorized earlier this year.

Immunocompromised people who received the Moderna vaccine were approved for a third dose back in August. More than 32,000 Moderna third doses have been administered to this higher-risk population so far in Michigan, according to state data.

If the FDA and CDC follow the advice of the FDA’s advisory board Thursday, Moderna booster recipients will receive a half-dose of the Moderna vaccine as a booster.

If the panel’s recommendation is followed, Moderna boosters would be given, at least at first, to the same group of people now recommended for the Pfizer booster — those 65 and older and at higher risk for COVID.

When will the J & J booster be available?

More than 355,000 Michigan residents have received the single-dose J & J vaccine.

The FDA and CDC still must approve a J &J booster. The FDA has generally followed the panel’s recommendations on COVID vaccines quickly. An advisory committee to the CDC is scheduled to meet Oct. 20-21.

Unlike Moderna and Pfizer, which are two-dose mRNA vaccines, Johnson & Johnson produced a one-dose viral vector vaccine similar to many traditional vaccines.

The J & J booster has been recommended for anyone who had an initial J & J dose, with no need to restrict them initially to higher-risk groups.

Who can now get the Pfizer booster?

The Pfizer vaccine, now marketed as Comirnaty, is a two-dose mRNA vaccine similar to Moderna’s version. Also similar: The Pfizer vaccine was recommended in August as a third dose for immunocompromised patients so they mount the same immune response as the general public. (Conditions are listed at this link here.)

Third doses were to be given at least 28 days after the first two-dose series was completed.

In September, the FDA authorized Pfizer boosters for a limited number of other people who got the Pfizer vaccine — specifically those 65 and older, those at higher risk of severe COVID, and those in certain occupations.

The boosters are to be given six months after a first series and boost immune responses that wane over time.

More than 325,000 Pfizer third doses and boosters have been given out in Michigan, according to state data.

“All of those doses — the third dose for immunocompromised people or the booster for other Pfizer recipients — are the same exact shot. There’s nothing that codes them differently, like Dose 1 or Dose 2 or Dose 3. They are the same,” Haddad-Azzi said.

Still unclear is whether those who are immunocompromised and received three doses will be eventually recommended for boosters.

Can I mix vaccines?

For now, no. For the most part, individuals are to stick to the same vaccine they first received, although in rare instances, individuals in the early days of the vaccine rollout may have had two different vaccines.)

It’s unclear to what extent the guidance to stick to one vaccine type will hold — an uncertainty underscored last week when an early study suggested that people who originally received the J & J vaccine might be better protected if they received a Moderna or Pfizer booster.

The results from the study of 458 people are preliminary and must be peer reviewed.

How do I get a booster once I’m eligible?

Vaccines now are widely available at large pharmacy chains, physician’s offices and health departments. It’s not necessary to return to the same site as your first doses.

Do the boosters carry side effects?

In clinical trials, the most commonly reported side effects among clinical trial participants getting the Pfizer and Moderna boosters were pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle or joint pain and chills. J & J  has reported similarly common side effects in its first vaccines, but has not submitted large data sets addressing side effects in a booster.

Can I get a COVID booster and flu shot at the same time?

Yes, according to the CDC.

This is the season when millions of Americans traditionally get their annual flu shot. Ask your pharmacy if you can get scheduled for both.

While COVID shots initially were to be spaced apart from other vaccines, the CDC changed its guidance about the timing, and now allows flu and COVID vaccines to be given at the same time. By federal law, the COVID shot is free, although pharmacists may bill insurers when available.

Most insurers cover flu shots, too, but there are exceptions, pharmacist Hadded-Azzi said.

Do I need my vaccination card when I get a booster?

Vaccine providers can access an individual’s COVID vaccine record through the Michigan Care Improvement Registry if the vaccine was administered in Michigan. Copies of vaccine records also can be requested through the MCIR public portal.

Nonetheless, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services recommends residents take their vaccine card with them when seeking additional shots or boosters to avoid confusion.

Those who received vaccines out of state should bring their out-of-state COVID vaccine record and request that the provider add the out-of-state record to MCIR, said MDHHS spokesperson Chelsea Wuth.

What about vaccines for children?

Currently, anyone 12 and older is eligible to receive a COVID vaccine. For now, the Pfizer booster — the only booster yet approved — is limited to adults 65 and older and people in high-risk groups.

The same FDA panel making recommendations about boosters is set to take up Pfizer’s request to authorize vaccines for children 5 to 11 years old at its meeting Oct. 26. The CDC’s Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices, which determines who will be eligible for vaccines and when, is scheduled to meet Nov. 2.

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The Detroit News 
Oct. 18, 2021
Breana Noble 

The maker of Jeep SUVs and Ram pickup trucks on Monday said it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with LG Energy Solution to create a joint venture for the production of electric-vehicle battery cells and modules in North America.

The joint venture between Stellantis NV and the Korean battery maker intends to break ground in the second quarter of 2022 on a battery plant for hybrids and EVs assembled in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 40 gigawatt hours with the goal of starting production by the first quarter of 2024.

A location is under review, and Stellantis declined to specify if it’s in Michigan. The quasi-governmental Michigan Economic Development Corp. on Monday did not return requests for comment on whether it is actively involved in the project.

The partnership, which is subject to regulatory approval, is the next step for Stellantis, the merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and French rival Groupe PSA, in its bid to compete in an electrified future. The company plans to invest $35.5 billion in electrification through 2025 and offer an all-electric option for each of its models in the United States by 2029. Stellantis believes it must produce batteries for plug-in hybrids and EVs to represent more than 40% of U.S. sales by 2030.

“Today’s announcement is further proof that we are deploying our aggressive electrification road map and are following through on the commitments we made during our EV Day event in July,” Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said in a statement. “Together, we will lead the industry with benchmark efficiencies and deliver electrified vehicles that ignite passion.”

Stellantis during its EV Day said it plans to have 90 gigawatt hours of capacity contracted in North America by 2030. It expects to have two battery plants on the continent by then, with the second built with a major battery supplier or its European battery joint venture.

LG already is tied up with one other Detroit automaker: General Motors Co. Their joint venture, Ultium Cells LLC, is constructing battery plants in Lordstown, Ohio, and Spring Hill, Tennessee, which will open in the first quarter of 2022 and late 2023, respectively. The Lordstown plant will have 30 gigawatt hours of annual capacity. Two other plants, whose locations have yet to be announced, also are planned.

LG currently produces lithium-ion battery pack system and controls in Holland for Stellantis’ Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan, a relationship that dates to 2014. LG also produces batteries for GM’s Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV, which the Detroit automaker recalled in August after a manufacturing defect was found to create a fire risk while vehicles charged.

Chrysler has said there has been no indication of similar defects in the Pacifica’s high-voltage batteries. LG has said assembly lines are individually operated for different EV models and the manufacturing process for Chrysler modules is different from from the Bolt’s. Samsung, meanwhile, is supplying the batteries for the new plug-in hybrid Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee 4xe SUVs.

“Establishing a joint venture with Stellantis will be a monumental milestone in our long-standing partnership,” said Jong-hyun Kim, CEO of LG Energy Solution, in a statement. “LGES will position itself as a provider of battery solutions to our prospective customers in the region by utilizing our collective, unique technical skills and mass-producing capabilities.”

Ford Motor Co. has teamed with SK Innovation Co. to produce batteries in the United States. Two BlueOvalSK plants in Glendale, Kentucky, and one in Stanton, Tennessee, are expected to open starting in 2025 and will offer a combined 129 annual gigawatt hours of capacity for the Dearborn automaker.

In Europe, Stellantis has partnered with French oil and gas company TotalEnergies SE and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz for its Automotive Cells Co. joint venture. A total of three battery plants are planned in France by 2023, Germany by 2025 and Italy by 2030. Altogether, they represent 120 gigawatt hours in annual capacity.

“With this,” Tavares said of the LG partnership, “we have now determined the next ‘gigafactory’ coming to the Stellantis portfolio to help us achieve a total minimum of 260 gigawatt hours of capacity by 2030.”

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