Minnesota Outlines When Next Priority Groups, General Public Will Be Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccines

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks to Minneapolis VA Hospital Director Patrick Kelly after over doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were delivered to the hospital Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. (Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via AP, Pool)

(KNSI) – Minnesota will continue vaccinating its senior population before moving on to other priority groups, Gov. Tim Walz announced Thursday.

“We set out to protect the most vulnerable Minnesotans, and we are honoring that commitment. Older Minnesotans have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and we are focused on making sure they get vaccinated and keeping them safe,” Walz said.

The benchmark for moving on to other vaccine priority groups is to have 70 percent of Minnesotans 65 and older vaccinated, which the state estimates will happen by the end of March. Right now, about 43 percent of Minnesota’s seniors have gotten at least their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In addition to seniors, Minnesota is continuing to vaccinate people in phase 1A — frontline health care workers and long-term care residents and staff — as well as prekindergarten through 12th grade school staff and child care workers.

The next vaccine eligibility group will include people with certain high-risk health conditions and certain essential workers, namely food processing plant employees. The list of medical conditions in this next eligible group includes sickle cell disease, Down Syndrome, heart conditions, chronic lung conditions that require supplemental oxygen, active treatment for cancer and people who are immunocompromised due to an organ transplant.

According to the state’s new timeline, even more people will become eligible for the vaccine in late spring, like additional essential workers, people as young as 16 who have certain high-risk health conditions and people age 50 and older who live in multi-generational housing. The timeline places the general public’s vaccine eligibility in summer 2021.

“COVID-19 has taken a tremendous toll, but the progress we are making against it is very encouraging,” says Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm. “Every day we are getting closer to the end of this pandemic thanks to these safe and effective vaccines and the hard work of so many Minnesotans. To protect and build on this progress, it is important to get vaccinated when you have the opportunity. It’s also important to continue doing our part to limit the spread of the virus by masking, social distancing, staying home when sick, and getting tested when appropriate.”

As of Tuesday’s data, 783,214 Minnesotans have gotten at least their first vaccine shot, representing 14.1 percent of the state’s population. Of that number, 386,256 have received their second dose.

MDH estimates that 43.5 percent of people 65 and older have started receiving COVID-19 vaccines. In the 50-64 age group, 13.7 percent of that population is vaccinated.