March 14 update on COVID-19 in MN: Vaccination pace rises; uptick in active cases
3 things to know:
More than 22 percent of Minnesotans with at least 1 vaccine dose
Nearly 13 percent of state residents have completed vaccinations
Number of active cases climbs back above 8,500
Updated 12 p.m.
Here are Minnesota’s current COVID-19 statistics:
6,746 deaths (5 new)
497,392 positive cases; 97 percent off isolation
22.3 percent of Minnesotans with at least 1 dose
74.9 percent 65 and older with at least 1 dose
The pace of COVID-19 vaccinations in Minnesota increased on Sunday, with the latest update from state health officials showing an average of more than 43,000 doses administered each day over the past week — the highest on record.
Nearly three-quarters of Minnesotans 65 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine; more than 22 percent of all state residents have received at least one dose.
But at the same time, the number of known active cases of the disease in Minnesota continued to rise, to 8,593 as of Sunday's update. That's up from fewer than 7,000 early last week, and the highest that number has been in more than a month, although still well below the peak of more than 51,000 seen in November.
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“Active cases” refers to the cumulative total of people who've tested positive in recent days who still need to be self-isolating.
State officials have emphasized that even as more Minnesotans are vaccinated, everyone needs to keep wearing masks and following physical distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, especially with COVID-19 variants confirmed in the state.
“It's just really important that we keep the cases down even as we are getting more people vaccinated. This is really a race against time. It's getting people vaccinated before these variants can take hold,” Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm told reporters on Friday.
While officials monitor the recent uptick in active cases, overall trends have improved to the point where Gov. Tim Walz announced a rollback of many of the state’s remaining pandemic restrictions.
“Normalcy is on the horizon,” Walz said in remarks Friday.
Inoculation progress
Vaccinations are big part of the optimism. Health Department data shows more than 700,000 people — 12.7 percent of the state’s population — have completed their vaccinations, while more than 1.2 million — about 22.3 percent — had received at least one dose.
Because doses are shipped once a week, the state often sees its vaccination counts jump from Thursday through Sunday.
Pandemic metrics show active cases up
The increase in active cases is notable given the concerns about the rise of the U.K. COVID-19 strain in Minnesota.
Hospitalization rates were up slightly on Sunday, but remain at levels last seen before the late-fall surge in cases: 240 people were hospitalized with the disease as of Thursday with 66 needing intensive care.
Five newly reported deaths brought Minnesota’s collective pandemic death toll to 6,746 as of Sunday’s update. Among those who’ve died, about 63 percent had been living in long-term care or assisted living facilities; most had underlying health problems.
The state has recorded 497,392 total confirmed or probable cases so far in the pandemic, including 997 posted Saturday. 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.
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 93,000 since the pandemic began, including more than 49,000 among those ages 20 to 24.
The number of high school-age youth confirmed with the disease has also grown, with more than 39,000 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, all parts of Minnesota are in significantly better shape than they were in late November and early December. Some areas are seeing upticks in cases.
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 have offered up some data on vaccinations broken down by race and ethnicity. The state is expected to update the data weekly.
Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm has 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
More pharmacies in Minnesota administering COVID vaccine
Gov. Tim Walz announced Saturday that CVS Health and Goodrich Pharmacy have been added to the expanding network of pharmacies vaccinating Minnesotans across the state.
Minnesota now has five pharmacies with dozens of locations participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, which is a collaboration between the federal government, states and territories, and 21 national pharmacy partners and independent pharmacy networks. Other pharmacies and health care providers are providing vaccinations through the state.
Three CVS in-store pharmacies at Target stores in Duluth, Rochester and Eden Prairie will receive 3,510 vaccine doses this week, according to the governor's office. Goodrich Pharmacy in the north Twin Cities metro will receive 1,170 vaccine doses this week.
“As vaccine supply from the federal government continues to increase, we’re building the path so getting your COVID-19 vaccine can be as easy as making an appointment online and walking into your local CVS at Target or pharmacy,” Walz said in a news release. “We will continue to mobilize every option we have to get more life-saving shots into more arms as quickly as possible and end this pandemic together.”
Appointments at CVS and Goodrich Pharmacy will become available in the coming days, and the locations and contact information for scheduling appointments will be accessible on the Vaccine Locator and Vaccine Connector websites when the information becomes available.
— Associated Press and MPR News staff
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