Nearly half of Olmsted County residents have completed their vaccine series

Olmsted County continues to outpace the rest of Minnesota — as well as much of the country — in Covid-19 vaccinations.

As of this week, 74,833 county residents have completed their vaccine series. That number represents 62 percent of residents 16 and older, and 48 percent of the population as a whole. An additional 13,125 people have started their two-dose vaccine series, according to state records.

The demographic making the most headway of late is 16- and 17-year-olds, nearly 50 percent of whom have now received at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, which has been approved for individuals 16 and up.

The progress being made among teens can be attributed to a recent push by Olmsted County Public Health to get the vaccine into area high schools.

Graham Briggs, director of OCPH, said this week that his department is also putting together plans to begin vaccinating 12-15 year-olds, an age group that Pfizer says could become eligible as early as next week.

Vaccinating children is considered one of the key remaining steps to achieving herd immunity. Children under 18 now account for about 35-40 percent of positive Covid tests in Olmsted County.

“We are seeing that population represent a higher and higher percentage of our overall transmission here in the community,” said Briggs.

Overall, after a “small surge” in recent weeks, new cases in the county have started to decrease — dropping to 127 cases last week, the lowest total since early March. Hospitalizations and percent positive rates have also declined.

“All indications now are that we are through it and we are heading back down,” Briggs said following a presentation to the County Board.

Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.

Cover photo licensed via Getty