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The Minnesota Department of Health is coordinating the release and distribution of the vaccine and ensuring the first group, which includes healthcare workers who deal directly with COVID-19 patients, emergency and emergency care personnel, and emergency, and long-term care facility staff all have access to the vaccine first.
The second group of healthcare workers to receive vaccinations includes assisted living staff, dialysis staff, ophthalmologists, dental staff, school nurses, and other medical staff not included in the first group.
RELATED: Olmsted County Faces COVID Uncertainty After Vacation
Afterwards, essential workers, such as police, firefighters and teachers, as well as those aged 75 and over, will have access to the vaccine.
Getting through the first two groups presents a challenge, said Amy Evans, Olmsted County Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coordinator.
Some organizations and groups may require an immunization clinic or coordination with a pharmacy to immunize employees or staff.
“Are we vaccinating 10 people or are we vaccinating 200 people?” Evans said. “This will help us decide which method to deploy.”
As of Thursday, 7,193 people in Olmsted County and 91,174 people across the state received the vaccine.
However, vaccinations depend on how quickly the vaccines are distributed, Evans added. The large number of healthcare workers adds another challenge to the process.
“Right now, our biggest challenge in our region is still waiting for vaccinations in order to administer them,” she said.
Evans said public health finished administering vaccines to SME staff this week. This does not mean that all EMS staff accepted the vaccination or were able to be vaccinated, but that all EMS staff in the county were offered or had access to the vaccine, she said.
County public health officials said they did not know how many people who had access to the vaccine refused it.
Kari Etrheim, public health communications coordinator for Olmsted County, said department heads at the Mayo Clinic report high cooperation among their staff.
“They’re seeing a 100% fill rate and very little reluctance to fill those niches,” she says.
Although first priority health workers are still vaccinated, second group vaccination efforts have started, Evans confirmed Thursday.
“There is definitely an overlap,” she says. “There is no hard and fast black line.”
(Updated Monday through Friday by Olmsted County Public Health)
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