During her press conference Thursday afternoon, Governor Gretchen Whitmer provided an update on the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the topics included the vaccines that are currently awaiting approval from the FDA.

They will go to front line health care workers and EMTs first, then to nursing home workers and residents.

They won’t be available to the general public for several months.

You can find out more about the vaccine at the state of Michigan website.

She also announced she has created the bipartisan Protect Michigan Commission to help raise awareness, safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.

The Commission will be chaired by: Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II; Former Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley; Chief Medical Executive and DHHS Chief Deputy for Health Dr. Joneigh Khaldun; Detroit Pistons player Blake Griffin; Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, MPH, FAAP, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and C.S. Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health; SER Metro CEO Eva Dewaelsche; Soumit Pendharkar, MHA, FACHE, Health Administrator for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians; Spectrum Health President & CEO Tina Freese-Decker; and Jamie Brown, Registered Nurse and President of the Michigan Nurses Association. The commission will also include 50 members from throughout the state who apply to be on the commission.

Click here to apply to the commission.