MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota is expanding COVID-19 vaccine access this week to nearly a third of the state's population, adding people with a broad range of chronic illnesses and workers in key front-line occupations.
The move comes as the state has almost reached its goal of providing vaccine to 70% of senior citizens who are more likely to suffer severe COVID-19 and die from the infectious disease.
"Because we have made such tremendous progress vaccinating Minnesotans over 65, we will be able to provide more shots, to more people, much more quickly than expected," Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement Tuesday morning.
The state is expanding access to its next two priority groups but will ask medical and pharmacy providers to prioritize the first of those groups — along with any remaining health care workers, long-term care facility residents, educators and senior citizens who haven't yet been vaccinated.
Minnesota's next priority group for vaccination includes at least 28,000 people 16 or older at elevated risk of severe COVID-19 due to high-risk conditions such as sickle cell disease, Down syndrome, and lung and heart conditions requiring supplemental oxygen. People who are being treated for cancer or who have weakened immune systems following organ transplants also qualify.
This group also includes roughly 44,000 food plant workers, selected in part to preserve the food supply during the pandemic. Nobles County had the nation's highest rate of new COVID-19 cases last spring during an outbreak at the JBS pork plant in Worthington, which was shut down for two weeks.
State Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm predicted it might take only a couple weeks to vaccinate this group, because the people with high-risk conditions have close contacts with medical providers, and food plant workers might get shots at workplace events.
As a result, the state is simultaneously expanding access to one of its biggest priority groups yet of roughly 1.7 million people — which includes adults with underlying health problems ranging from diabetes to obesity to heart conditions. It also includes a range of workers in key industries who are at heightened risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. That includes airport security, food servers, police officers, mail carriers and bus drivers.
That next priority group includes adults 45 and older with one qualifying medical condition, or adults 16 or older with two such conditions. Minnesotans age 50 or older in multigenerational housing also qualify due to the heightened risks of viral spread in such living situations.
In total, nearly 1.1 million people in Minnesota have received at least a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Of them, 592,134 have completed their shots — either by receiving two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, or a single dose of the newly available Johnson & Johnson vaccine. That's more than 10% of the adult population.
Less than 7% have been fully vaccinated, though, which means they had their final shots at least 14 days ago. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday advised fewer restrictions on fully vaccinated people, including that they could meet indoors with one another with no masks or social distancing.
