(KNSI) – All Minnesotans age 16 and older can get in line for a COVID-19 vaccine.
Tuesday is the first day of Minnesota’s eligibility expansion.
The state is expecting to nearly double the number of vaccines its been getting from the Federal government.
Governor Tim Walz says the extra vaccines will let health care organizations go after those who’ve been spreading the virus the most.
“Family, you can go together and get everybody vaccinated. I would make an appeal to where we’re seeing some of the highest spread happening, in our younger people. Take your roommate’s and go and get the vaccine.”
He encourages everyone to get registered for a vaccine as soon as possible so life can return to normal.
“We’ve got a ways to go, obviously to get to 80%. But the infrastructure is there. The vaccines are coming. Minnesotans are showing a willingness to get this done. And this is how we beat it.”
Walz says getting Minnesota’s population to a point where it’s at herd immunity is a race against the variants which are being seen more.
“This is the sprint Minnesotans. This is how we have to outrun those variants. We have to stop the spread that’s out there and Minnesota is one of the states where it is gaining. But the good news is we’re countering it with an aggressive vaccine effort.”
Former Governor Tim Pawlenty will join Governor Walz on Tuesday afternoon to receive their COVID vaccine.
More than 1.6 million Minnesotans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
That’s nearly 29 percent of the state’s population.
Stearns County has vaccinated just over 25 percent of its population.
To register for a vaccine, click here.
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