| November 1, 2021 
 More than 4.44 million Michigan residents got vaccinated against COVID-19 during the first five months shots were available. In the five months since, another 1.03 million have slowly followed suit, bringing the state’s vaccination rate up to 63.7% among its eligible population. That leaves Michigan, as of late October, with almost 3.12 million eligible residents unvaccinated, despite significant safety and efficacy data, countless medical experts affirming the shots’ benefits, and even the FDA granting full approval to Pfizer’s two-dose shot. Those who have access to, but haven’t yet gotten a vaccine, represent the toughest group to convince it’s a good idea, explained Sarah Zimmerman, a University of Michigan lecturer who specializes in communication strategies including persuasion. READ MORE  Scientists recently figured out that expected surges in plastics manufacturing may cause enough greenhouse gas emissions to cancel out gains made through closures of most of the country’s coal-fired power plants. A new report published this month by Beyond Plastics, an academic project of Vermont’s Bennington College, quantified U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from plastics manufacturing. The researchers determined plastics are on track to outpace greenhouse gas emissions from coal plants before the decade is out. READ MORE ►Michigan to stop buying most products made with PFAS chemicals  Construction is underway for what owners say is the first Black-owned television and movie studio in Michigan. Standup comedian and director turned entrepreneur, Amaru, who only goes by one name, said it was a combination of events with the death of George Floyd and the COVID-19 pandemic that inspired him to open Greenwood District Studios. “How can I bring back my job and others some jobs?” Amaru said. “Hope was the number one thing that came up and doing away with the despair that’s happening around, especially with our youth.” READ MORE  Jared Goff threw away the football on fourth down the last time he played at Ford Field. That’s a bizarre mistake, and considering no one was guarding D’Andre Swift on the other side of the field, an unconscionable one. He admitted to as much after the game, saying he saw a flag for holding against Penei Sewell and thought it was a free play, forgetting that Cincinnati could, um, decline the penalty. That’s bad. Then in his return to Ford Field, he did it again. He was soaked in the loudest boos of the day for it. And considering the day featured a 44-6 bloodletting against an awful Philadelphia Eagles team, that is saying something. READ MORE  Schools throughout Michigan are struggling to attract half as many substitutes to fill daily staff vacancies as they did prior to the pandemic, pushing them to the brink. Schools’ struggles to find substitutes is nothing new. But the pandemic has accentuated staffing shortages, with teachers and staff sometimes needing to unexpectedly quarantine or miss time due to a COVID-19 diagnosis. “It is brutal,” said Bishop Elementary Principal Abby Smith, who has made a habit of recruiting parents to fill noon hour recess supervisors vacancies at the school. “We are using any and every available body who is willing in a variety of ways.” READ MORE
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