ST PAUL, Minn. — Thursday, May 13
- CDC panel endorses Pfizer vaccine for kids ages 12 to 15
- Walz: Minnesota can beat Biden's vaccine goal of 70% by July 4
- MDH reports just over 1,000 new COVID cases Thursday, 19 deaths
- Mayo study reveals lingering "brain fog," headaches with some long-haulers
- U.S. COVID deaths hit lowest mark in 10 months
- Walz sets timeline for dropping statewide restrictions, mask mandate
11 a.m.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan and State Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm are visiting the community vaccination clinic at St. Paul RiverCentre to emphasize how easy it is to get a walk-up COVID-19 immunization without an appointment.
State health officials have taken steps like opening all nine state-run community sites to remove barriers for Minnesotans who are either hesitant to get vaccinated, or who may just consider the process an inconvenience.
"Folks are busy, folks have things to do, they don't want to and it's many times hard to either get themselves or their children in for appointments," Walz said on Thursday.
Walz said those sites are offering walk-up vaccines to 12- to 15-year-olds, now that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for emergency use in that age group.
The numbers of statewide vaccinations have slowed in recent days, as those who were anxious to protect themselves against COVID-19 have completed their shot series and are considered fully vaccinated.
Walz said he's still confident Minnesota will beat President Joe Biden's goal of 70% of adults 18 and up getting at least one shot by July 4.
"We've got this thing, we're very close, we've got to push going on to the end," Walz said.
MDH says 2,685,779 people in the state have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That's about 60.9% of Minnesota's 16 and older population. Of that group, 2,229,027 are fully vaccinated — about 50.5% of the same population.
Just over 1,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Thursday, along with 19 deaths. More details about the new numbers released Thursday are available here.
Walz said Thursday that vaccination efforts have "blunted" the latest surge of COVID in the state.
Wednesday, May 12
4:30 p.m.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) says health care providers in the state can begin administering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine soon to kids age 12 to 15 following an endorsement Wednesday from a CDC advisory panel.
MDH Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann said providers can begin administering the vaccine as soon as those providers receive guidance from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
"Historically most providers in Minnesota will wait for CDC and MDH to issue guidance for newly eligible groups," Ehresmann said. "We will do that once we have the ACIP recommendations. The ACIP recommendations often contain important information for clinicians, such as whether a vaccine can be given at the same time as other vaccines, or what the interval should be; contraindications may be spelled out, etc."
That official guidance is expected later Wednesday.
"We want to make sure we get our MDH guidance materials updated with the ACIP recommendations for providers, but we don’t want to make them delay vaccination until it is posted," she said.
Ehresmann recommends that parents call ahead to vaccine providers to ensure that the Pfizer vaccine is available, as that is the only version currently approved for the 12-to-15 age group.
Allina Health has announced it will begin taking vaccine appointments for the 12-to-15 age group starting Thursday.
“Offering Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 12 to 15 years old is an important milestone in our effort to protect our patients, staff and communities from the virus,” Allina Health Group Chief Medical Officer, Dr. John Misa, MD, said in a statement. “Being able to vaccinate our younger community members is the best way to protect them from getting sick or spreading COVID-19.”
11 a.m.
New single-day COVID infections remain under 1,000, according to data released Wednesday by the Minnesota Department of Health.
Health officials say 919 cases were reported in the last day, bringing Minnesota's total to 590,436 since the pandemic arrived in Minnesota. Those new cases are based on results from 21,351 tests (16,948 PCR, 4,403 antigen) processed in private and state labs. That volume is just under twice as high as the test numbers reported Tuesday.
Young adults from age 20 to 24 account for the largest grouping of COVID cases in Minnesota, with 57,184 and four deaths, followed by those between 25 and 29 with 52,352 cases and seven deaths.
The virus has claimed the lives of 15 more Minnesotans, bringing total deaths to 7,255. COVID has been hardest on those between ages 85 and 89, with 1,326 fatalities in just 6,694 diagnosed cases.
Total COVID hospitalizations are now up to 31,164, with 6,339 of those people requiring ICU care. MDH says 573,350 people who have tested positive for the virus have improved to the point they no longer need to isolate.
Minnesota's four most populated counties have recorded the most COVID activity. Hennepin County reports 122,274 cases and 1,727 deaths, followed by Ramsey County with 51,127 cases and 873 deaths, Dakota County with 45,731 cases and 452 deaths, and Anoka County with 41,496 cases and 438 fatalities.
The state vaccination dashboard says Minnesota has likely already surpassed having 50% of those eligible completely immunized. The most recent numbers are from Monday, when 49.9% of those age 16 and older (2,199,544 people) had completed their COVID shot series, making them completely vaccinated in the eyes of federal and state health officials.
Minnesotans with at least one dose of COVID vaccine now number 2,676,919 (60.7% of those eligible), a number that has slowed down significantly in recent days. Gov. Walz and state health officials have said that people who were anxious to get vaccinated against COVID have completed their shots, and the challenge that lays ahead is to get those who are hesitant, or have barriers to getting vaccinated.
