Rolling Breakthrough Demographic Data (MDHHS)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

- All data provided to and/or reported to MDHHS regarding the number of breakthrough COVID-19 cases in Michigan by race, ethnicity, age, sex, occupation and/or employer type, beginning on today's date (11/21/2021) and continuing until the COVID-19 pandemic has been declared officially ended by the State of Michigan and/or the federal government of the United States of America. If this data exists only in part, or needs to be segregated before release, please contact me directly. I am open to negotiating on the scale and scope of this data request.

- Please also identify when the data was collected, what methods were used, and what purpose was intended for the data when gathering it.

- Please provide the requested data on an ongoing rolling basis as it is received by your agency, preferably weekly. If your agency does not receive the requested data weekly, then monthly should also suffice, depending upon how regularly and how thoroughly your agency is tracking the requested data.

I previously requested similar data from the last year and was quoted over $800 by your agency. That said, I am now requesting the most current data on a rolling basis as it is made available to your agency in order to keep costs down and ensure the information is available to the public and those who need it for research and decision-making.

If the requested data is already available to the public, please provide me with links to the data, as I was unable to locate it in a search.

The requested information is vital to the public interest due to poor demographic-level data tracking that has persisted at state and federal levels throughout the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020 -- a fact that has been acknowledged by health departments and data scientists numerous times over the last 1.5 years. Recently, journalism and data science initiatives have been spearheaded to ensure that public health departments track and publicly report all new COVID-19 infections, including breakthrough cases, more thoroughly at the demographic level in order to more effectively identify and protect vulnerable communities.

Tracking and publicly reporting data about new and breakthrough cases at the demographic level can help ensure that new variants are identified more quickly, that data-driven policies can be created to contain outbreaks locally and protect communities more effectively and intelligently, that disparate impacts on vulnerable populations can be recognized and addressed more rapidly, and that physicians, scientists and the general public can have a more transparent and complete understanding of vaccine and booster duration at the demographic level in order for citizens to stay healthy, particularly across different age groups and racial and ethnic groups, for whom that data is sometimes lacking.

For more information about the value of the requested demographic-level data and why it is of the highest importance to the public, please refer to the following articles:

1. https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2021/oct/25/how-you-can-find-more-details-about-covid-19-break/
2. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/pandemic-data-initiative/data-outlook/preparing-state-data-systems-for-booster-doses-and-breakthrough-cases
3. https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/25/cdc-pandemic-limited-data-breakthroughs-506823
4. https://www.propublica.org/article/a-tiny-number-of-people-will-be-hospitalized-despite-being-vaccinated-we-have-to-learn-why

The requested information will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes. Disclosure of the requested information to me is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the impact of public health and policy decisions, as well as operations and/or activities of the government, and is not primarily in my commercial interest. I am willing to pay up to $25 for the requested information. If the fee for this request exceeds this amount, please notify me in writing prior to beginning work on the request.

I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Erin Miller