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

ALPENA — A $100,000 grant will help connect Northeast Michigan residents with COVID-19 vaccine questions to a trusted medical voice, health officials announced this week.

On Friday, The Alcona Health Center plans to roll out a vaccine hotline, putting to use a grant from the CDC Foundation, a nonprofit created by Congress to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Callers can ask simple questions of a manager who answers the phone or arrange a return call from a registered nurse for a one-on-one conversation to address more complex concerns, according to Malinda Amlotte, community outreach and marketing manager for Alcona Health Center.

The phone number will be posted on the Alcona Health Center website once it opens to the public on Oct. 1.

Social media and other sources expose residents to many misconceptions about vaccines, and residents are 100% right to ask questions to make sure they understand such a vital health issue, Amlotte said.

The phone line will offer a place to get answers from trusted officials, she said.

The grant will also enable educational opportunities the Alcona Health Center will plan in collaboration with the Northeast Michigan Community Service Agency and MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena.

The news comes as health officials reported 193 newly infected or probably infected Northeast Michiganders and the deaths of five who had been infected in the past week.

Health officials administered 404 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Northeast Michigan residents in the past week, according to state data.

As of Tuesday, 58% of Alpena County residents 16 or older had been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to state data.

Public health experts have said we could consider the coronavirus pandemic over once 70% of the population has been vaccinated.

The state says 63% of Presque Isle County residents, 56% of Montmorency County residents, and 58% of Alcona County residents have been fully vaccinated.

In the past week, public health officials have reported 193 newly infected or probably infected Northeast Michiganders and the deaths of five who had been infected.

Since February, Northeast Michigan health officials have reported confirmed and suspected infections as one number. A person counts as a suspected infection if they’d been exposed to a confirmed infected person but hadn’t been tested, themselves — such as family members of infected people.

Northeast Michigan public health agencies have stopped reporting the number of people recovered from COVID-19, but, based on federal definitions that consider a person living 30 days after infection to have recovered from the disease, The News estimates 868 Northeast Michiganders were actively infected — and potentially contagious — on Thursday.

A week ago, 678 residents were actively infected.

Other key Northeast Michigan COVID-19 statistics:

* As of Monday, seven COVID-19 patients were admitted at MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena, none of them in intensive care. The hospital was 40% full. State officials watch hospital occupancy rates closely to decide whether to impose new restrictions meant to slow the spread of infection.

* Since the pandemic’s start in mid-March 2020, public health officials have reported 5,560 Northeast Michiganders infected or probably infected, and 148 related deaths.