Minnesota positioned to start vaccinating health care workers, long-term care residents by the end of the month.
| | Hans Pennick | AP
Dec. 8, 2020 Minnesota's vaccine plan | |
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With cases of COVID-19 still surging throughout Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz is expected to announce the state’s plan for vaccine distribution Tuesday.
Walz said Minnesotans can expect to hear from public health experts and a bipartisan group of legislators on the state’s strategy.
“It’s been too long since we’ve talked in a bipartisan manner and stood together on COVID like we did in the early days of [the pandemic],” Walz said in a Monday press conference. “It’s my hope that we are bringing that sense of ‘One Minnesota’ tackling this together back to you in terms of where we go with the vaccine.”
Two vaccines — one made by Pfizer and one made by Moderna — are being considered for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration. The agency’s decision about whether to allow the Pfizer vaccine to head to market may come as early as this week.
That timeline could position Minnesota to start vaccinating people as early as the week of Dec. 14.
The governor also plans to say if he’ll extend his current order banning in-person bar and restaurant service beyond Dec. 18. By week’s end, state public health leaders say evidence of an expected new wave of cases and hospitalizations originating from Thanksgiving holiday gatherings is likely to begin to surface.
Even as vaccinations near, the “hardest weeks” still lie ahead, Walz said Monday as he announced that Minnesota would trim its quarantine guidance for those who’ve been exposed to COVID-19 from 14 days down to seven to 10 days, per federal recommendations.
He urged Minnesotans to hang on. “We’re getting close here. Just dig deep. Wear the masks. Try not to gather outside your own family, and let’s get this thing done.”
Here are Minnesota’s current COVID-19 statistics:
4,005 deaths 356,152 positive cases, 314,138 off isolation4.6 million tests, 2.7 million people tested (about 47 percent of the population)11.1 percent seven-day positive test rate (officials find 5 percent or more concerning)🎧 Tune in and stay informed.Here's what's coming up on MPR News today.
-- Michael Olson, MPR News |
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