Minnesota’s Pilot COVID-19 Vaccination Program Continues as Biden Boosts States’ Dose Allocation

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(KNSI) – Pre-registration remains open for seniors, school staff and child care employees who want to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination at one of Minnesota’s nine pilot clinics this week. No appointment slots have been filled yet and won’t be until 7 a.m. Wednesday, two hours after the pre-registration cut-off, says Minnesota IT Services Commissioner Tarek Tomes.

The random selection for appointment slots is a change from last week, the state’s first week implementing the pilot vaccination sites for the expanded eligibility group. In the state’s initial run, it used a first-come, first-serve sign-up system. Now, no matter when an eligible Minnesotan pre-registers for an appointment during the open period, they have an equal chance to be picked. If they are not offered a vaccine appointment this week, Tomes said, they will automatically be placed on a waitlist for future opportunities.

“We’re not deleting the waiting list,” Tomes said. “Once you’re signed up on this waiting list, you’re always going to be eligible for that random process that runs.”

In short, Minnesotans don’t need to re-register each week. This week, roughly the same amount of appointments are available as last week.

“We have been allocated roughly 11,700 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which was the same allotment that we had last week, across the nine sites in Minnesota, and then we also have 15,000 doses of Moderna that will be used to vaccinate metro area educators and childcare workers,” Department of Commerce deputy commissioner Anne O’Connor said. The latter doses will be administered during a mass vaccination drive at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul over the weekend.

At the seven non-metro pilot clinics, including St. Cloud’s, appointments will be assigned 50-50 between seniors and those who work in schools or child care provider settings.

The continuation of the state’s vaccination effort comes as the Biden Administration announced Tuesday afternoon that states should expect a 16 percent increase in COVID-19 vaccine allocations over the next three weeks. For Minnesota, this means an extra 11,000 doses in addition to its weekly allotment of around 60,000.

“We have seen extraordinary demand for the vaccine in Minnesota, and we are working with a variety of providers to create a strong network of choices for Minnesotans when it’s time to get their vaccine,” Walz said. “Every dose Minnesota receives puts us one step closer to crushing COVID-19, which is why we need to move quickly.”