Jan. 25, 2021
It’s going to be cold tonight, with lows between 3 and 9 degrees in the southern part of the state, and even colder in the north, 6 below to 12 below zero, with windchills near 30 below. Tomorrow should be mostly sunny, with highs from zero to 6 above in northwestern Minnesota, and 18 to 24 degrees in the southeast. Find the latest from Updraft. Gov. Tim Walz is pushing health care providers to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations. He says vaccinators must administer 90 percent of their doses within 72 hours of receiving the shipments, and the rest within a week. If they don't meet those goals, the governor says, providers could see changes to their vaccine allocations. The governor cited new data today showing that national chain pharmacies are lagging behind other vaccine providers in getting shots to Minnesotans. “The supply chain issues that are out there, we've been using our private sector partners to help with that. A lot of this is we just don't have enough. And so when we do have some extra, I want to be clear to Minnesotans. Let's get it out in 72 hours.” Also, after thousands of older Minnesotans were turned away from the first public signups for COVID vaccines, some changes are coming tomorrow. Walz announced that people 65 years and older may pre-register for a chance to be selected at random for one of 8,000 vaccination appointments. The change follows widespread criticism of last week's initial sign-up, when demand for the first-come, first-served appointments crashed the system. And COVID-19 vaccines for those who work with children will see a big boost this week. Educators and child care workers are getting more than double the number of vaccines they received last week Still, the 15,000 slots are just a small fraction of the roughly 140,000 teachers and other staff currently employed by Minnesota schools. You can get more of the latest news, in just a few minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast. — Kirsti Marohn | MPR News | 