COVID-19: Coverage of the pandemic from MPR News

The latest news, resources, guides and tips to help you stay up to date on the coronavirus pandemic.

'Step in the right direction' as Minnesota nursing home residents get first vaccine doses
The first residents and staff at a St. Cloud nursing home and a Prairie Island Indian Community assisted living facility have received their initial doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. It’s good news for long-term care facilities, which have been hardest hit by the virus. Sixty-five percent of the state's 4,896 deaths have been among long-term care residents.
Trump assails COVID relief bill, suggests he may not sign
President Donald Trump is blasting the bipartisan $900 billion pandemic relief package that Congress just passed and is suggesting that he may not sign it. Trump complained in a video that he tweeted out Tuesday night that the bill delivered too much money to foreign countries, but not enough to Americans. 
U.S. negotiating for millions more vaccine doses from Pfizer
The U.S. government is negotiating with Pfizer to acquire tens of millions of additional vaccine doses in exchange for helping the pharmaceutical giant gain better access to manufacturing supplies.
Walz: 250K COVID vaccine doses in Minnesota by year-end
“The days ahead are brighter,” Gov. Tim Walz told reporters Tuesday afternoon. “The vaccines are here. They’re being distributed as efficiently as we can. Demand outstrips supply at this point, but we’ll get there.”