MDH: Vaccine Rollout Faces ‘Race Against Time’ in Preventing Future COVID-19 Case Surges

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(KNSI) – The swift distribution of COVID-19 vaccines developed less than a year after the first cases were found in the U.S. has painted a brighter picture for 2021 versus 2020. However, Minnesota health leaders say the vaccine rollout faces “a race against time” with a more transmissible variant of the virus now in circulation in the state.

More than 1 million Minnesotans are partially or fully vaccinated against COVID-19, representing 19.3 percent of the state’s population. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 12.3 percent of Americans 18 and older have received two vaccine doses, prompting the agency to put out guidance for fully vaccinated people.

State infectious disease director Kris Ehresmann says “fully vaccinated” is defined as two or more weeks since a second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or two or more weeks since one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

“It takes a couple of weeks for your body to build up protection after vaccination, so that’s why it’s important that you need to wait that amount of time before these guidelines kick in,” Ehresmann said.

The guidance, announced Monday, says that fully vaccinated people can visit with other vaccinated people indoors without masks or social distancing. They can also gather unmasked with unvaccinated people if they are at low risk of serious COVID-19 complications. For those who are in a higher-risk category, the CDC recommends wearing masks and social distancing.

The full guidance also details when and if fully vaccinated people should get tested for COVID-19.

Ehresmann said the CDC will likely update this guidance as more people get vaccinated, but “a vast majority of people need to be fully vaccinated in Minnesota” before mitigation efforts will no longer be needed.

Though the state’s vaccination effort is progressing at a rate of 42,000 doses a day, most Minnesotans aren’t yet vaccinated, and Ehresmann says it’s a race against time to prevent another surge in cases, especially as a COVID-19 outbreak in Carver County concerns the Minnesota Department of Health.

“MDH has observed a concerning increase in the rate of growth of cases in Carver County over the past month,” Ehresmann said. “A 62-percent increase between the week beginning January 27th to the week beginning February 24.”

Eighty-four of these COVID-19 cases are linked to youth sports activities in the county, Ehresmann said. Two dozen cases have been identified as the B117 variant, which researchers say is more transmissible than other strains of COVID-19.

“Case rates in Carver County are now approaching rates seen in October 2020, and a high proportion — 35 percent — are under age 20,” Ehresmann said.

She adds that 35 percent of these new cases are being found in people age 20 and younger. That can be concerning since children 15 and younger do not yet qualify to get any of the COVID-19 vaccines currently approved for emergency use, and it can be months before many young adults are eligible to receive the vaccine.

“Our concern is that ongoing transmission in this population will allow B117 … to spread quickly across the state, as well as high levels of transmission could allow for the emergence of other variants,” Ehresmann said.

The MDH issued guidance over the weekend for people in Carver County, particularly those who are involved with youth sports. Ehresmann added that the B117 variant is not isolated to Carver County; to date, the MDH has identified cases of that variant in 15 counties, including Wright and Meeker.

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