Key takeaways as Minnesota expands vaccine eligibility to all adults
All Minnesotans age 16 and over will be eligible to receive vaccination against Covid-19 on March 30, Gov. Tim Walz announced Friday morning. This eligibility expansion comes a month ahead of President Joe Biden’s goal of making all American adults eligible by May 1 — as the state prepares for a major uptick in vaccine supply through the spring.
With Minnesota recently jumping to the top spot in vaccine distribution nationwide, Walz said the ‘light at the end of the tunnel,’ in his eyes, was finally in sight.
“Minnesotans have done a remarkable job helping our most vulnerable get vaccinated and waiting their turn,” said Walz. “Now, as we prepare to receive more vaccine heading into April, it’s time for all Minnesotans to get in line.”
As newly-eligible people scramble to find appointments in all corners of the state, here are five things to know about where we stand after today.
Priority Groups still remain
“Eligibility” does not guarantee all Minnesotans a vaccine appointment on Tuesday, Walz cautioned. The priority groups identified in early 2021 remain in effect, and roughly a fifth of Minnesota’s senior citizens — plus a third of the state’s educators and child care workers are still not vaccinated.
Friday’s move, the governor says, will create a “queue” that health care providers and government officials can pull from to find willing vaccine recipients, once previously-outlined priority groups are taken care of.
“We created a lane, and that initial lane was to take care of folks in long-term care and our health providers on the very front lines of this,” said Walz. “We started to add more lanes to that freeway. It’s running nearly at full speed, and on Tuesday, it will be, but I want to be very clear — that fast lane on the left is still for senior citizens 65 and over.”
Mayo Clinic responds
In a statement released Friday, Mayo Clinic said it was not finished vaccinating patients who were part of previously eligible groups, and that it would continue to “proactively send vaccine appointments” to patients with underlying conditions.
"It's promising to hear that the State of Minnesota is expanding Covid-19 vaccine eligibility to all Minnesota residents who are 16 and older regardless of health condition," said Dr. Abinash Virk, co-chair of Mayo Clinic's Covid-19 Vaccine Allocation and Distribution Work Group. "However, with the limited vaccine supply, we will continue to use our judgement to offer the vaccine as best as we can to the community based on availability of the vaccine.”
Larger shipments incoming
Friday’s announcement came on the backs of a promise from the federal government, Gov. Walz said, that weekly vaccine allotments would dramatically increase in the coming weeks. Per the Star Tribune, the state expects to receive roughly 300,000 first-doses of vaccine each week by early April — nearly double the current allotment.
“It takes some patience to get these things out,” said Walz. “That’s why in the beginning, in December, January, everybody was asking ‘Where are the vaccines?’ They’ve been in the pipeline, and they’re coming now. We’re going to see that next week.”
Many ways to sign up
While health care providers like Mayo Clinic continue to focus on vaccinating medical-based priority groups, appointments at pharmacies will now be open for anyone to sign up for. The state’s Vaccine Connector website will also connect registered residents to vaccine providers with open appointments, if and when they become available.
(A word of advice: save the number 954-716-7771 in your phone as “Vaccine Connector” if you’ve registered. If that number calls, make sure you pick up — they’ll be calling to tell you a vaccine appointment has opened up for you.)
The current situation
Over 40 percent of Olmsted County residents have received at least one dose of vaccine, per the Public Health Covid-19 dashboard. Roughly 28 percent of the county’s population was fully vaccinated as of Wednesday.
Local Covid-19 case numbers have hovered between 100 and 150 for the past month; last week, Public Health reported 133 new cases of the virus, saying our area is averaging roughly 19 new cases per day.
Isaac Jahns is a Rochester native and a 2019 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. He reports on politics, business and music for Med City Beat.
Cover photo licensed via Getty
