February 7 update on COVID-19 in MN: 10 percent of Minnesota residents have at least one dose of vaccine

3 things to know:

• About 10 percent of Minnesotans received at least one dose of vaccine

• Main COVID-19 metrics kept stable in the state

• Officials warn against attending big Super Bowl parties

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About 10 percent of Minnesota residents have already received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The state reached that milestone in the Minnesota Department of Health’s Sunday update, reflecting data released on Friday. That is just over 554,000 people. About 2.8 percent of Minnesota residents – almost 157,000 people – received both doses to complete the vaccination.

And the state is slowly making progress in vaccinating people 65 and older. Just over 27 percent of that age group in Minnesota has already received at least one dose of the vaccine.

But week after week, the rate of vaccination in Minnesota in the past few days is slowing. The state reported more than 43,000 doses administered in its updates each day of the previous weekend, from January 30 to 31.

This weekend, the state reported 36,502 doses (Saturday update) and 38,183 (Sunday).

At the current rate, authorities estimate that it may take four months to vaccinate all Minnesotans aged 65 and over.

Here are the current ones from Minnesota COVID-19 Statistics:

• 6,299 deaths (10 new)

• 468,118 positive cases (914 new), 453,225 without isolation (97 percent)

• 6.8 million tests, 3.3 million tested Minnesotans (about 58 percent of the population)

• 10 percent of Minnesotans vaccinated with at least one dose

The image of the pandemic remains stable, mainly positive

COVID-19 metrics continue to show Minnesota maintaining, at new case levels, hospital admissions and deaths at their lowest point since last fall.

The known and active cases are at 8,594, similar to the levels of early October and still significantly below around 50,000 at the end of November.

Ten recently reported deaths increased Minnesota’s death toll to 6,299 on Sunday. Among those who died, about 63% lived in long-term care facilities; most had latent health problems.

The state recorded 468,118 confirmed or probable total cases so far in the pandemic, including 914 reported on Saturday. About 97 percent of Minnesota residents known to be infected with COVID-19 in the pandemic have recovered to the point that they no longer need to be isolated.

State officials continue to warn that the pandemic is not over yet, looking at new strains of viruses arriving in the United States, including two cases of the Brazilian strain and 16 of the UK variant in Minnesota.

They are also trying to dissuade people from attending the big Super Bowl meetings on Sunday, due to constant concerns about the spread of the virus.

Cases spread across age groups, regions

People in their 20s still make up the age group with the highest number of confirmed cases in the state – almost 89,000 since the start of the pandemic, including almost 47,000 among people aged 20 to 24.

The number of school-age youth confirmed with the disease has also grown, with more than 36,000 cases in total between 15 and 19 years since the pandemic began.

Although they are less likely to experience the worst effects of the disease and end up hospitalized, experts fear that young people and young adults will spread the disease unknowingly to older relatives and members of other vulnerable populations.

People can have the coronavirus and spread COVID-19 when they have no symptoms.

The number of cases is decreasing in all regions of the state after a blip in late December, early January.

The number of cases is even heavier among people of color

In Minnesota and across the country, COVID-19 hit communities of color disproportionately in cases and deaths. This was especially true for Minnesota residents during much of the pandemic.

Even with the count of new cases falling since the peaks of late November, early December, the data show that people of color remain the hardest hit.

Mistrust in the government, along with deeply rooted health and economic disparities, have hampered efforts to increase testing among communities of color, officials say, especially among unauthorized immigrants who fear that their personal information could be used for deportation. them.

‘Everyone will have to be patient’

State public health leaders have been pleading for patience with the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations.

More than 554,000 Minnesota residents received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine until Sunday’s report, which included data as of Friday. This represents about 10% of the state’s population. About 2.8 percent completed a complete series of vaccines.

Concerns continue to simmer about the speed of the effort – and the confusion that is generated as people struggle to find out when and where they can make an attempt.

Last week, officials said it could take up to four months to vaccinate Minnesotans aged 65 and over, if the feds did not distribute more vaccines more quickly; about 20 percent of that priority population received at least the first dose.

“We are vaccinating the Minnesotans safely and quickly as supplies reach us,” Kris Ehresmann, the state’s director of infectious diseases, told reporters on Tuesday. But “we just don’t have enough vaccine and everyone will have to be patient”.

Minnesota is receiving about 84,000 more doses this week, which will be shared among tribal nations, people over 65, educators, group home residents and others.

Nearly half will go to health professionals who have not yet been vaccinated, although they are in a high priority category, said Ehresmann earlier this week, estimating that about 80,000 health workers in the state have not yet been vaccinated.

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COVID-19 in Minnesota

The data in these charts are based on the Minnesota Department of Health cumulative totals released daily at 11 am You can find more detailed statistics on COVID-19 at Department of Health website.

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Latest developments

Vaccination weekend set for Minneapolis Convention Center

The state of Minnesota launched a new large-scale vaccination site at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

The state expects to vaccinate 9,500 people, including people aged 65 and over, teachers and childcare providers over the weekend. Other sites will open in Duluth and southern Minnesota in the coming days, and will remain open indefinitely.

The sites will be operated by Vault Health, which runs the state’s saliva testing program.

Dan Feehan, a former Minnesota congressional candidate, now leads Vault’s national vaccine program, including in Minnesota.

“This is incredibly exciting. People are waiting and looking for an opportunity like this: not just to get vaccinated, but easily, efficiently and with a transfer rate high enough that we can reach many more people,” he said.

Vault Health chose names at random for nominations from a list of people who pre-registered for vacancies during the initial launch of the pilot vaccine program in January, Feehan said.

– Catharine Richert | MPR News

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