March 7 update on COVID-19 in MN: More than 10 percent of Minnesotans have completed vaccinations
3 things to know:
More than 10 percent of Minnesotans have completed vaccinations
Nearly 64 percent of Minnesota seniors have at least one dose
Four more deaths raise pandemic death toll to 6,550 in Minnesota
More than 10 percent of Minnesota residents have now completed their COVID-19 vaccinations, state health officials reported Sunday.
That includes people who have received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or the sole dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Nearly 19 percent of Minnesotans have received at least one dose — including nearly 64 percent of state residents 65 and older, as the state this weekend marks the one-year anniversary of its first confirmed COVID case.
While vaccinations continue, there has been a slight uptick in newly confirmed cases in recent days. Averaged over the past week, Sunday’s update from the state health department showed Minnesota is seeing about 786 new cases each day. That’s up from about 753 on Friday.
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Sunday’s update showed a slight decrease in COVID deaths and hospital admissions reported each day, averaged over the past week.
Here are Minnesota’s current COVID-19 statistics:
6,550 deaths (4 new)
490,011 positive cases (897 new); 97 percent off isolation
18.8 percent of Minnesotans with at least 1 dose
63.9 percent 65 and older with at least 1 dose
The pace of vaccinations fell slightly in Sunday’s update. Averaged over the past week, Minnesota is now administering just over 39,000 shots a day — down from a record high of more than 41,000 a day as of Saturday’s report. That’s in part because of an unusually high number of vaccinations reported the previous Sunday, as weather-delayed vaccine doses made their way around the state.
The Health Department on Sunday reported 570,038 people — about 10.2 percent of the state’s population — are completely vaccinated now. More than 1 million Minnesotans — about 18.8 percent — had received at least one dose.
‘Faster than we thought’
State public health leaders have said for weeks that they’d be ready to ramp up when they got more supply. With the federal government now promising enough vaccine to inoculate every adult American by the end of May — two months earlier than expected — the table seems set.
The state is expected to receive 127,169 doses this week.
Nearly 64 percent of Minnesotans 65 and older have received at least one shot currently, according to Health Department calculations. That’s important since officials have said the state will expand vaccination eligibility when 70 percent of that population gets a first dose.
Officials expected to meet that goal by the end of March. On the current trajectory, it could happen by mid-March, which would accelerate the timeline for when any Minnesotan can get a shot. Officials say the arrival of Johnson & Johnson doses, which require only one shot, are a game changer.
Minnesota currently ranks 16th among states in doses administered per 100,000 people, according to data collected by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pandemic metrics hold steady
As the pace of vaccinations gains speed, Minnesota’s COVID-19 numbers show disease conditions are fairly stable.
Hospitalization rates remain at levels last seen before the late-fall surge in cases. There were 224 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Minnesota as of Thursday; 57 needed intensive care.
Known, active cases came in at 7,406 as of Sunday, continuing a trend that stayed fairly stable through February and remains down dramatically from late November and early December, when active cases hovered around 50,000.
Four newly reported deaths raised Minnesota’s toll to 6,550. Among those who’ve died, about 62 percent had been living in long-term care or assisted living facilities; most had underlying health problems.
Death counts had ticked up in recent days before falling on Sunday. It’s unclear if the recent increase was a blip or evidence of something more concerning.
The state has recorded 490,011 total confirmed or probable cases so far in the pandemic, including 897 reported Sunday. About 97 percent of Minnesotans known to be infected with COVID-19 in the pandemic have recovered to the point where they no longer need to be isolated.
Despite recent positive trends in key metrics, officials remain concerned about COVID-19 strains with the potential to spread. Minnesota has 165 confirmed cases of the so-called U.K. variant and two cases of the Brazil variant.
State health officials continue to implore Minnesotans to stay vigilant against the disease. On Friday, with spring break approaching for students, they also urged people to put off non-essential travel.
“Even with the positive momentum we see on vaccines, so many Minnesotans are still vulnerable,” said Ruth Lynfield, the state’s epidemiologist. The state, she cautioned, could still see a spike in coming months if people let down their guard.
Cases spread across age groups, regions
People in their 20s still make up the age bracket with the state’s largest number of confirmed cases — more than 92,000 since the pandemic began, including more than 48,000 among those ages 20 to 24.
The number of high school-age youth confirmed with the disease has also grown, with more than 38,000 total cases among those ages 15 to 19 since the pandemic began.
With kids increasingly returning to school buildings and sports, Minnesota public health officials are urging Minnesota families with children to get tested every two weeks for COVID-19 now until the end of the school year.
Although young people are less likely to feel the worst effects of the disease and end up hospitalized, experts worry youth will spread it unknowingly to older relatives and members of other vulnerable populations.
People can have the coronavirus and spread COVID-19 when they don’t have symptoms.
Regionally, most parts of Minnesota are down significantly from the late November and early December spike, as well as a smaller January uptick.
Caseloads still heaviest among people of color
In Minnesota and across the country, COVID-19 has hit communities of color disproportionately hard in both cases and deaths. That’s been especially true for Minnesotans of Hispanic descent for much of the pandemic.
Even as new case counts continue to track well below their late November, early December peaks, the data shows Latino people continue to be hit hard.
Distrust of the government, together with deeply rooted health and economic disparities, have hampered efforts to boost testing among communities of color, officials say, especially among unauthorized immigrants who fear their personal information may be used to deport them.
Walz has acknowledged that distrust by communities of color has been a problem during the pandemic. Officials on Friday offered up some data on vaccinations broken down by race and ethnicity.
Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said the state was committed to doing more to expand vaccine access to people of color, including getting more doses to community pharmacies, partnering with local groups and deploying mobile vaccination clinics.
COVID-19 in Minnesota
Data in these graphs are based on the Minnesota Department of Health's cumulative totals released at 11 a.m. daily. You can find more detailed statistics on COVID-19 at the Health Department website.
Latest developments
COVID variant outbreak in Carver Co. linked to youth sports
Minnesota health officials on Friday warned of a “rapidly growing outbreak” of the U.K. COVID-19 strain tied to youth sports in Carver County. They are recommending a two-week suspension of youth sports in the county amid the outbreak.
Since late January, the Health Department says there've been at least 68 cases of COVID-19 cases linked to school and club sports in the metro-area county. Among those cases, 24 have been confirmed as the B.1.1.7 U.K. variant.
Epidemiologists have also seen an uptick of the U.K. variant cases in Carver County gyms and fitness centers — with many of those linked to the youth sports cases.
Health officials say youth sports in the county should be paused starting Monday. They also recommend weekly testing of athletes and coaches elsewhere in the state, strict masking and no gatherings before or after games.
B.1.1.7. is more transmissible than other coronavirus variants. While researchers don't believe it's more deadly on its own, its ease of spread may lead to more deaths.
— Matt Sepic | MPR News
State tallies 320 vaccine doses ruined
Officials say a total of 320 vaccine doses have been wasted in Minnesota in recent months.
Northern Minnesota’s Cass County had a disproportionate number of those wasted doses, according to state records: a total of 90 that were not used.
“Ninety doses were non-viable and unable to be used due to exposure outside of the storage temperature requirements and the timing of the occurrence,” said Michelle Piprude, the county’s director of health, human and veterans’ services.
Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines need to be stored in extremely cold temperatures. Minus 70 degrees for the Pfizer vaccine and minus 20 degrees Celsius for the Moderna vaccine.
— Elizabeth Shockman | MPR News
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