MDH Officials Optimistic but Cautious as State Loosens Restrictions, Continues Vaccinations

(KNSI) – According to the CDC, Minnesota has been allocated more than 378,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far. Amid worries that vaccine rollout in the state and nationwide is going too slowly, state infectious disease director Kris Ehresmann says there’s a delay between when states are allocated vaccine and when they arrive at pharmacies, hospitals and other healthcare settings to be given.

“Some of the vaccines that were allocated on Tuesday may not reach their final destination in Minnesota until Friday of next week,” Ehresmann said, adding that the state placed its order for this week’s federal vaccine allocation of more than 65,000 doses on Thursday.

“Vaccine allocations from the federal government are not the same thing as vaccines in-state available to be administered,” Ehresmann said.

The latest public-facing data from the Minnesota Department of Health shows that 91,174 people have gotten their first shot of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. Accounting for reporting delays and time needed to verify the data, the number of Minnesotans vaccinated looks closer to 120,000, Ehresmann said.

The vaccination effort comes as some COVID-19 precautions will become less restrictive on Monday. One of the most significant parts of Gov. Tim Walz’s executive order is that bars and restaurants can resume indoor dining with capacity limits and other protocols.

A new variant of the COVID-19 virus, first spotted in the UK, is also raising some concern.

“This new variant that you’re hearing about that is now in four states — the state of Minnesota has been looking and doing our surveillance testing,” Walz said Wednesday. “We have not found it yet. … It is probably here.”

Ehresmann said the state’s public health laboratory and some other labs in the state take samples and do whole genome sequencing to identify different strains of COVID-19.

The CDC says this variant appears to be more easily transmitted than other strains of COVID-19, but research doesn’t indicate that the variant is more deadly or causes more severe disease.

“That is something that we’re tracking,” Walz said of the variant. “It will have an impact, but it will only have an impact if we allow it to get in. One of the ways we don’t allow it to get in: wear the mask, social distancing, wash your hands, stay home if you’re sick, get a test, and we can keep these things open.”

Overall, MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm said the next few weeks will be critical to see if the state’s COVID-19 trends change with laxer restrictions and sustained improvement from November’s peak.

“We’re in a state of genuine optimism, but guarded with the reality that we know how quickly things can change,” Malcolm said.