News in COVID-19 in MN: Increase in the rate of vaccination; increase in active cases

3 things to know:

• More than 22 percent of Minnesota residents with at least 1 dose of vaccine

• Nearly 13 percent of state residents completed vaccination

• The number of active cases rises to more than 8,500

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Updated at 12pm

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

• 6,746 deaths (5 new)

• 497,392 positive cases; 97 percent out of 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 per day during the past week – the highest on record.

Nearly three-quarters of Minnesota residents aged 65 and over have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine; more than 22 percent of all state residents 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 in Sunday’s update. That number is more than less than 7,000 at the beginning of last week, and the highest number was in more than a month, although still well below the peak of more than 51,000 seen in November.

“Active cases” refer to the cumulative total of people who have tested positive in the past few days who still need to isolate themselves.

State officials emphasized that, even if more Minnesotans are vaccinated, everyone needs to continue wearing masks and following physical distance guidelines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, especially with COVID-19 variants confirmed in the state.

“It is very important to keep cases low, even when we are vaccinating more people. This is really a race against time. It is vaccinating people before these variants can spread, ”Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm told reporters on Friday.

While officials monitor the recent rise in active cases, general trends have improved to the point that Governor Tim Walz has announced a reversal of many of the remaining pandemic restrictions in the state.

“Normality is on the horizon,” Walz said in comments on Friday.

Inoculation progress

Vaccines are a big part of optimism. Data from the Department of Health show that more than 700,000 people – 12.7% of the state’s population – completed their vaccines, while more than 1.2 million – about 22.3% – received at least one dose.

Since doses are sent once a week, the state often sees its number of vaccines increase from Thursday to Sunday.

Pandemic metrics show active cases

The increase in active cases is notable due to concerns about the increase in the United Kingdom’s COVID-19 strain in Minnesota.

Hospitalization rates rose slightly on Sunday, but remain at the levels last seen before the increase in cases: 240 people were hospitalized with the disease on Thursday, with 66 needing intensive care.

Five recently reported deaths have raised the collective death toll from the Minnesota pandemic to 6,746 in Sunday’s update. Among those who died, about 63% lived in long-term care facilities; most had latent health problems.

The state has recorded 497,392 confirmed or probable total cases so far in the pandemic, including 997 posted on Saturday. About 97% 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.

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 – more than 93,000 since the start of the pandemic, including more than 49,000 among those aged 20 to 24.

The number of school-age youth confirmed with the disease has also grown, with more than 39,000 total cases among those aged 15 to 19 since the start of the pandemic.

With children increasingly returning to school buildings and sports, Minnesota public health officials are encouraging Minnesota families with children to take the COVID-19 test every two weeks until the end of the school year.

Although young people are less likely to experience the worst effects of the disease and end up hospitalized, experts fear that young people 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.

Regionally, all parts of Minnesota are in significantly better shape than they were in late November and early December. Some areas are experiencing an increase in cases.

The number of cases is even heavier among people of color

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

Even with the count of new cases following well below the peaks of late November, early December, data show that Latinos continue to be hit hard.

Mistrust in the government, coupled with deep-seated health and economic disparities, has hampered efforts to increase testing among communities of color, officials say, especially among unauthorized immigrants who fear that their personal information could be used to deport them.

Walz acknowledged that distrust of communities of color has been a problem during the pandemic. The authorities provided some data on vaccinations broken down by race and ethnicity. The state is expected to update the data weekly.

Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said the state is committed to doing more to expand access to the vaccine for people of color, including providing more doses to community pharmacies, partnering with local groups and setting up mobile health clinics. vaccination.

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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

More pharmacies in Minnesota administering the COVID vaccine

Governor Tim Walz announced on Saturday that CVS Health and Goodrich Pharmacy have been added to the expanding chain of pharmacies that vaccinate Minnesotans across the state.

Minnesota now has five pharmacies with dozens of locations that participate in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, which is a collaboration between the federal government, states and territories and 21 national pharmaceutical partners and independent pharmacy chains. Other pharmacies and health care providers are providing vaccines across the state.

Three CVS pharmacies at Target stores in Duluth, Rochester and Eden Prairie will receive 3,510 doses of the vaccine this week, according to the governor’s office. Goodrich Pharmacy on the north of the Twin Cities subway will receive 1,170 doses of vaccine this week.

“As the federal government’s vaccine supply continues to increase, we are building the path to getting your COVID-19 vaccine. It can be as easy as making an appointment online and entering your local CVS at Target or the pharmacy,” said Walz in a press release. “We will continue to mobilize all the options we have to obtain more life-saving shots on more weapons as quickly as possible and end this pandemic together.”

Appointments at CVS and Goodrich Pharmacy will be available in the coming days, and locations and contact information for scheduling appointments will be accessible on the Vaccine Locator and Vaccine Connector websites when the information is available.

– Associated Press and MPR News team

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