Minnesota Boosts COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation for Seniors, Establishes Two Semi-Permanent Community Vaccination Clinics

Photo by Gustavo Fring from Pexels

(KNSI) – More than 35,000 Minnesotans over the age of 65 will have access to a COVID-19 vaccine this week at over 100 clinics and hospitals, state community vaccination sites and other locations around the state.

After a two-week vaccination pilot program to test the concept of community clinics and an increase in vaccine supply, the state says it is ready to move forward with a larger-scale approach to vaccine distribution.

“In total, we have about 98,000 doses being distributed across Minnesota this week, the most we’ve ever had,” said Kris Ehresmann, the Minnesota Department of Health’s infectious disease director.

Ehresmann says the federal government is boosting the state’s usual 60,000-dose weekly allocation by 16 percent this week. In addition to the higher allocation, as more people in priority phase 1A (healthcare and long-term care) receive their vaccine doses, more doses typically set aside for 1A can be routed to the next priority group: people 65 and older, school staff and child care workers.

This week, about 50 percent of Minnesota’s vaccine supply will be distributed to people in phase 1A, 35 percent will go to Minnesota seniors, and the rest will be allocated for child care workers and school staff.

In addition to local healthcare providers, vaccines for seniors will also be administered through the state’s two new semi-permanent vaccination clinics in Duluth and Minneapolis. Governor Tim Walz’s office says a third site in southern Minnesota will open next week.

As for the state’s nine existing pilot vaccine clinics, people who received their first vaccine dose at one of those sites will get their follow-up dose there as well. Minnesotans on the waitlist for a vaccine appointment will have a chance this week to be randomly selected for an appointment at the Duluth and Minneapolis sites.

“We won’t be opening up the availability to get on the waitlist again for this week, but we will be utilizing the waitlist to randomly select individuals for this week’s vaccine clinics,” Minnesota Department of Commerce Deputy Commissioner Anne O’Connor said.

People eligible for a vaccine can now access an online vaccine finder to find out where they can get their COVID vaccine close to home. In the St. Cloud area, this includes CentraCare Plaza, CentraCare South Point and Simplicity Health. However, MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm says vaccine supply is still limited, and people should be patient with their local providers.

“I think it’s still a good practice for folks to know that their clinics will have every intention of beginning to reach out to their patient populations when the clinics have vaccines,” Malcolm said.

As of Friday, 650,475 first and second doses of the vaccine have been shipped to providers around Minnesota. 181,200 first and second doses have been shipped for the Centers for Disease Control’s long-term care vaccination program.

In the five-county St. Cloud area of Benton, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns and Wright counties, 33,224 people have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine. More than 6,700 have received both doses.

Jennifer Lewerenz contributed to this report.