May 7 update on COVID-19 in MN: Vaccination pace falling; pandemic data steady
3 things to know
Remaining COVID curbs set to end by Memorial Day; mask mandate lifted by July 1
59.6 percent of Minnesotans 16 and older have received at least one dose; 46.9 percent — more than 2 million people — are now completely vaccinated
Vaccination pace at its lowest in more than two months
Updated 1:35 p.m.
Minnesota’s COVID-19 numbers continue to offer optimism that the latest case wave has crested. At the same time, officials remain anxious about the new challenges of getting nearly 500,000 more Minnesotans vaccinated to finish the job.
The state’s current COVID-19 restrictions begin winding down starting at noon, part of a series of changes that will end state government-ordered curbs before Memorial Day weekend.
As he ordered those changes Thursday, Gov. Tim Walz pretty much begged still-unvaccinated Minnesota adults to step up, even urging those who oppose him politically to get the shots so they could be healthy enough to vote against him next year.
He said Minnesota’s masking mandate would end July 1 but sooner if 70 percent of Minnesotans 16 and older receive at least their first vaccine dose.
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"It's your turn. If you're out there right now and you're 16 and above get your vaccine,” Walz said in his remarks Thursday. “The whole process will take you five minutes. You'll be back doing whatever you need to do. You need to help Minnesota now. I'm asking you. Give us a hand to get this last little bit."
On Friday, Walz announced that eligible Minnesotans can now walk in for a COVID-19 vaccination without an appointment at the state’s community vaccination program locations.
Vaccination pace sliding
More than 2.6 million residents 16 and older now have at least one vaccine dose; more than 2 million have now completed their vaccinations as of Friday’s update.
That works out to nearly 47 percent of the 16-and-older population completely vaccinated and nearly 60 percent with at least one shot, including 88 percent of those 65 and older.
Minnesota’s vaccination pace, however, has been falling in recent weeks. The seven-day trend is down now to its lowest level in more than two months with indications of a significant drop in demand.
The state’s vaccination efforts have been hampered by supply cuts, particularly of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Officials, however, also acknowledge the state must do more to connect unvaccinated people to shots.
The work to reach out to people who haven’t yet been vaccinated “will be a bit harder” than when Minnesotans were lining up for the shots, state infectious disease director Kris Ehresmann said this week.
“We recognize successes are going to be hard to come by in this phase,” she said. “Anytime we move up by a percentage point [in people vaccinated], that’s a big deal.”
Active cases, hospitalizations down
The count of known, active COVID-19 cases came in at 14,135 in the latest data — down from the most recent high of about 20,000 in mid-April.
Friday’s report showed 560 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Minnesota; 144 needed intensive care. Both figures continue to trend down from their recent peaks.
Twelve newly reported deaths brought Minnesota’s pandemic toll to 7,216. Among those who have died, about 61 percent had been living in long-term care or assisted-living facilities; most had underlying health problems.
The state has recorded 585,677 total confirmed or probable cases so far in the pandemic, including the 1,453 posted Friday. 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 isolate.
Regionally, all parts of Minnesota are in better shape than they were in late November and early December. Case counts had been creeping up the past few weeks across the state, but the trend appears to have peaked.
Officials continue to implore Minnesotans to keep their guard up during proms, graduations and other spring events, noting that more contagious COVID-19 variants are driving new cases across the state.
“There is still an extremely high level of virus circulating all over the state,” Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm told reporters earlier this week.
Youth counts concerning
While the overall trends are solid, officials are increasingly concerned about the spread of COVID-19 in younger people. They’ve been urging more testing of middle and high school students and weekly testing for athletes, coaches, referees and other youth sports participants.
People in their 20s still make up the age bracket with the state’s largest number of confirmed cases — more than 108,000 since the pandemic began.
The number of high school-age youth confirmed with the disease has also grown, with more than 47,000 15-to-19-year-olds known to be infected during the pandemic.
Although young people are less likely to feel the worst effects of the disease and end up hospitalized, experts worry they will spread it unknowingly to older relatives and members of other vulnerable populations. Those with the COVID-19 virus can spread it when they don’t have symptoms.
People attending proms, graduations and other youth-oriented events are a special concern now for health officials.
The work by schools and districts to build safeguards into those events “can be completely undermined if students and parents don’t do their part, as well,” Ehresmann told reporters recently.
Top headlines
Walz sets May 28 end to COVID curbs, July 1 end to mask mandate: Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday laid out his timeline for ending COVID-19 restrictions — including the end of curbs in time for Memorial Day weekend — serving notice that the pandemic’s end is near.
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New study estimates more than 900,000 people have died of COVID-19 in U.S.: The total, estimated by researchers at the University of Washington, is 57 percent higher than the official death toll. Worldwide, they said, COVID-19 deaths are nearing 7 million, twice the official total.
Bus depot pop-up clinics highlight Minnesota’s evolving vaccine strategy: As the once-high demand for COVID-19 vaccinations has ebbed, public health officials are adjusting strategies for getting shots to as many Minnesotans as possible. That shift has been on display in Duluth this week, where nurses have answered questions about vaccines and given out free shots — no appointment required — in the downtown transit center.
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.