(KNSI) – On Thursday, Minnesota crossed a COVID-19 vaccination threshold: More than 3 million first and second doses have been administered to 1.9 million Minnesotans. The milestone comes less than two weeks after the state opened eligibility to all residents 16 and older.
One reason why Minnesota broadened vaccine eligibility is that the federal government anticipates boosting states’ weekly vaccine allotments during April. Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm says that hasn’t happened yet, but she’s reassured that the higher allocations will come.
“This current week, we’re at about 340,000 total first doses between what the state is allocating and what the federal government is allocating,” Malcolm said.
An estimated 34.2 percent of Minnesota residents have received at least their first dose. Among seniors, that figure is 83.1 percent. Malcolm says that is an indicator that getting the general population to 80 percent vaccinated will take some time.
“It’s going to be a continued education and outreach campaign — so important to meet people where they are,” Malcolm said. “We do know that some of the first groups who were offered vaccine, polling that was done … suggested that people were not saying that they would never take the vaccine, but that they wanted more information. They wanted to see how the rollout went, what the experiences of other people were.”
As the vaccination effort continues, Minnesota is also facing rising COVID-19 case numbers.
“We’ve seen an increase in cases of 2.6 percent this week compared to last week,” Malcolm said. “Testing volume is up 2.9 percent, up from 2.8 percent the week prior.”
Within the last day, 2,535 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 14 have died from the disease. There are 565 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in the state, with 131 receiving intensive care. State epidemiologist Dr. Ruth Lynfield suggests more transmissible strains of the virus are playing a role, saying the CDC now considers the B117 variant (first identified in the UK) to be the dominant strain in the U.S.
“We estimate that 50 to 60 percent of our Sars-CoV-2 infections currently are due to variants, particularly B117,” Lynfield said.
While the state cannot sequence the genome of every positive COVID-19 case found, Lynfield says more labs are partnering with the state to track these variants.
Identified COVID-19 variants in Minnesota
- B117 (UK): 1,573 cases, 4 percent hospitalized, five deaths
- B147 and B149 (California): 337 cases, 2 percent hospitalized, two deaths
- P1 (Brazil): five cases, one case hospitalized
- B1351 (South Africa): 26 cases, 15 percent hospitalized
“Our message regarding variants is that they are spreading, and we need to continue to be careful while more Minnesotans get vaccinated,” Lynfield said.
Another twist: The rise in cases and vaccinations precedes Ramadan, the Islamic holiday that begins on April 13th. Imam Hassan Jama, executive director of the Islamic Association of North America, says many scholars and imams agree that getting the COVID-19 vaccine is permissible for those who are observing Ramadan.
“Taking the COVID-19 vaccine does not break one’s fast because it’s not considered food and drink,” Jama said.
Jama added that people who feel side effects, like fever or headache, after receiving the vaccine can break their fast to take medicine, drink or eat.
“It’s important to take care of yourself,” Jama said.
During the pandemic, 535,182 Minnesotans have tested positive for COVID-19, and there are now 24,224 currently active cases. 27,986 people have required hospitalization for COVID-19, and 6,922 people have died. So far, 1,900248 Minnesotans have received the COVID-19 vaccine. More than 65 percent of vaccine recipients have either gotten the one-dose Johnson & Johnson variety or have received both doses of Pfizer or Moderna.
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