Courtesy Image An illustration of the coronavirus provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ALPENA — MidMichigan Health officials said the hospital network will receive more COVID-19 vaccinations than originally planned and the first doses could be given in Alpena as early as Tuesday.

The U.S. gave the final go-ahead today to the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine, marking what could be the beginning of the end of an outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans, according to a person familiar with the decision but not authorized to discuss it publicly.

Shots for health workers and nursing home residents are expected to begin in the coming days after the Food and Drug Administration authorized an emergency rollout of what promises to be a strongly protective vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech.

Initial doses are scarce and rationed as the U.S. joins Britain and several other countries in scrambling to vaccinate as many people as possible ahead of a long, grim winter. It will take months of work to tamp down the coronavirus that has surged to catastrophic levels in recent weeks and already claimed 1.5 million lives globally.

While the FDA decision came only after public review of data from a huge ongoing study, it has also been dogged by intense political pressure from the Trump administration, which has accused the agency of being too slow and even threatened to remove FDA chief Stephen Hahn if a ruling did not come today.

The vaccine’s arrival is welcome news as the coronavirus continues to roar through Northeast Michigan. Local public health officials today reported two more Montmorency County residents have died after being infected with the coronavirus, and 54 more Northeast Michiganders were infected.

As of today, 1,390 Northeast Michiganders were actively infected, meaning they’d been confirmed infected with COVID-19 but have not recovered or died, and could infect others.

The interactive graphic below shows active infections in Northeast Michigan over time. Story continues below graphic.

Midland-based MidMichigan Health, which owns the Alpena hospital, will receive 2,925 doses from the state health department, instead of the 975 doses originally expected, spokeswoman Millie Jezior said in an email to The News today.

Jezior said hospital officials were being told to expect the arrival of the vaccine between Tuesday and Thursday.

If MidMichigan Health’s shipment is received early on Tuesday, practice runs of vaccinations will be held in Midland and Alpena.

“During that time, those on the vaccination team will receive the vaccine,” she said in the email. “That includes employees from quality, infection prevention, employee health, and pharmacy, as well as a few physicians. This is approximately 20 people in Midland and 10 in Alpena.”

Check out MidMichigan Health’s informational video about the vaccine below. Viewing on mobile? Turn your device horizontally for the best viewing experience. Story continues below video.

Local public health officials expect the vaccine should be available in the area by Dec. 18, Denise Bryan, administrative health officer for District Health Departments No. 2 and No. 4, said.

Meanwhile, state officials said in a news release that officials expect enough vaccine available for everyone who is recommended to receive it by late spring of 2021, with doses distributed in a phased approach:

∫ First, health care workers who have direct or indirect exposure to infected people or materials and residents of long-term care facilities

∫ Second, some essential workers and workers in critical industries, such as non-hospital or non-public health laboratories and mortuary services

∫ Third, people who are at high risk for severe COVID-19 illness, such as those with underlying medical conditions and people 65 and older

∫ The general public would be the last to receive the vaccine

The interactive chart below shows cumulative infections, recoveries and deaths in Northeast Michigan over time. Story continues below graphic.

Bryan, of the local health departments, said local public health vaccinators and emergency medical services will be the Health Department’s first priority group.

Jezior, of MidMichigan Health, said clinics will be held on Wednesday through today for employees who will receive the first wave of the vaccine, which includes staff from intensive care units, the emergency department, and emergency medical service, as well as staff on the hospitals’ COVID/medical floors.

If the vaccine is not received by midnight Tuesday, everything will shift by a day, she said.

Health Department Medical Director Josh Meyerson said in an email to The News, skilled nursing facilities are supposed to get vaccines through contracts with national pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens.

“We will know a lot more next week and could give firmer answers,” Meyerson said.

Today’s deaths mark 32 Northeast Michiganders dead since the pandemic began, including 18 Alpena County residents, three Presque Isle County residents, four Montmorency County residents, and seven Alcona County residents.

The last death was reported Tuesday.

Public health officials today reported 54 newly infected Northeast Michiganders, including 22 Alpena County residents, 26 Presque Isle County residents, five Montmorency County residents, and one Alcona County resident.

Flip through the interactive timeline below to see how the coronavirus spread through Northeast Michigan. Story continues below the timeline.

Free drive-thru COVID-19 tests will be administered 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday in the MediLodge of Rogers City Bradley Highway-side parking lot. A doctor’s referral is not needed. Participants are asked to enter from Lark Street.

As of Thursday, 16 COVID-19 patients, four of whom were in intensive care, were hospitalized at MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena, according to state data. The Alpena hospital was 33% full.

As of Thursday, 130 people were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection across the state-designated, 18-county health care region that includes Alpena, Presque Isle, and Montmorency counties, according to state data. The state had not updated hospital data as of this evening.

Since the pandemic hit Michigan in mid-March, 1,672 Northeast Michiganders have been infected, according to local public health agencies. Of those, 250 have recovered and 32 have died.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.