CDC director: Answer to Michigan COVID-19 surge is "to close things down"

Michigan can't vaccinate its way out of a COVID-19 spike, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky said at a briefing Monday, during which she called on the state "to close things down."

Why it matters: Michigan's average daily case count has jumped about seven times from a low point in February, per the New York Times. It's a reality check for the nation, CNN writes.

What she's saying: "When you have an acute situation, an extraordinary number of cases like we have in Michigan, the answer is not necessarily to give vaccines — in fact, we know the vaccine will have a delayed response," she said.

• "The answer to that is to really close things down, to go back to our basics, to go back to where we were last spring, last summer ... to flatten the curve, to decrease contact with one another, to test to the extent that we have available, to contact trace."
• Shutting things down is imperative, she said. "If we tried to vaccinate our way out of what is happening in Michigan, we would be disappointed that it took so long for the vaccine to work, to actually have the impact," she added.

The big picture: Michigan public officials have called on the Biden administration to increase vaccine supply to the state.

• The White House said on Monday it is prepared to send additional therapeutic treatment to the state, per Reuters.