DETROIT — More than 220 Defense Department military and support personnel are expected at Ford Field in Detroit to support COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency requested the deployment and the personnel were expected to arrive Friday at the mass vaccination site.

Ford Field was announced earlier this month as a community vaccination center. The indoor stadium is home to the NFL’s Detroit Lions.

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Vaccinations are expected to start Wednesday. Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson said 6,000 vaccines can be administered each day at the site.

The vaccines given will be above the state’s regular allocations, officials said Thursday.

U.S. Army North, the Joint Force Land Component Command of U.S. Northern Command, will oversee the response operation in support of state and the federal vaccination pilot.

Richardson is commander of U.S. Army North.

On Wednesday, Michigan reported more than 3,160 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, but no new deaths. The state has had close to 615,800 cases and more than 15,800 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

The state announced last week that all residents age 16 and up will become eligible for the vaccine on April 5, nearly a month before the May 1 date pledged by President Joe Biden.

People age 16 to 49 with certain medical conditions or disabilities will qualify starting Monday, when 50- to 64-year-olds can begin getting shots.

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