| Derek Montgomery for MPR News
Dec. 2, 2020 Laying the groundwork to distribute vaccines | |
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Good morning. It's been an unusual start to December with warmer than average temperatures and little to no snow across the state. Look forward to more (relative) warmth throughout the week with most of Minnesota expected to have highs in the 40s. Find out more from Updraft.
A COVID-19 vaccine could be approved as soon as mid-December. Who will get it first?
That's the question state health officials are looking to answer as they continue to form a three-phase distribution plan for the forthcoming vaccine. They'll likely start with with health care professionals and others likely to encounter the coronavirus. A second phase will focus on the most vulnerable, and finally widen out to the general public.
“In Phase 3, vaccine will be available in plentiful supply, and so we will look at how we will routinely distribute COVID-19 vaccine — and that will be a wonderful time,” Kris Ehresmann, the state’s infectious disease director, told reporters Tuesday.
Here are Minnesota’s current COVID-19 statistics:
3,615 deaths (22 new)322,312 positive cases, 279,540 off isolation (3,570 new)4.3 million tests, 2.5 million people tested (about 45 percent of the population)11.3 percent seven-day positive test rate (officials find 5 percent or more concerning)'Everyone's overwhelmed at this point': Caregivers challenged by latest pandemic surge This week, four Mayo Clinic staff members who have been working with COVID-19 patients since the beginning of the pandemic, talked about what they are seeing on the front line treating those infected with the disease.
St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell announced that he would be taking action against an officer who shot and wounded a man Saturday.
Axtell's comments came as he released body camera video of officers confronting a man he described as naked and without possessions.
While Axtell declined to say what action was being taken, citing state law, he did say "when I asked myself if the officer's action on Saturday night were reasonable and necessary, the only answer I could come up with is no.”
🎧 Tune in and stay informed.Here's what's coming up on MPR News today.
-- Sara Porter, MPR News |
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