Latest news on COVID-19 in MN: strong vaccination pace; eligibility widens

3 things to know:

• The rate of vaccination is accelerating; Minnesota Expands Eligibility

• Almost 11 percent of Minnesotans fully vaccinated

• Carver County youth sports epidemic remains a concern

---

Update: 2:29 p.m.

The image of COVID-19 vaccination in Minnesota continues to brighten.

Data for Tuesday showed some 20,620 new vaccinations, significantly more than the previous Tuesday. The seven-day trend is nearly 42,000 injections per day, the highest level since vaccinations began in late December.

The most recent figures came minutes after Governor Tim Walz and state health officials expanded vaccine eligibility to an additional 1.8 million Minnesotans and indicated that by the end of April , the state may be ready to offer an injection to any adult in Minnesota.

State public health officials have said for weeks that they will be ready to step up vaccinations when they have more supplies. With more than 127,000 doses expected this week in Minnesota, the table seems set.

The Department of Health reported that more than 602,000 people – 10.8% of the state’s population – had completed their vaccinations, while nearly 1.1 million – about 19.5% – had received at least one dose, of which 67% of people aged 65 and over.

State officials told reporters on Tuesday that state pharmacies this week redirected doses from saturated locations to areas with higher demand.

Minnesota ranks 16th among states for doses administered per 100,000 population, according to data collected by the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC also provided encouraging advice on Monday, saying fully vaccinated people can congregate with other vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or social distancing.

Data problems skew daily disease data

As the pace of vaccinations accelerates, Minnesota’s COVID-19 figures show disease conditions continue to be broadly stable.

Hospitalization rates remain at levels last seen before the spike in cases in late fall. There were 231 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Minnesota on Monday; 50 required intensive care.

Known and active cases arrived at just under 7,000 on Tuesday, continuing a trend that continued through February and remains significantly down from late November to early December.

Officials urged COVID-19 watchers not to read anything in Tuesday’s data regarding new daily cases and deaths. They said issues with error in the data had resulted in 138 deaths and 891 new cases appearing in Tuesday’s data from months ago.

The health ministry said the issues were linked to four private labs not reporting positive tests to the state, including at nursing homes. The agency said the problem was discovered during an audit.

The state declined to name the labs because they are under investigation.

The additions brought Minnesota’s mass death toll to 6,696. Of those who died, about 63% lived in long-term care or assisted living facilities; most had underlying health problems.

The state has recorded a total of 492,108 confirmed or probable cases in the pandemic so far. About 97% of Minnesotans known to be infected with COVID-19 in the pandemic have recovered to the point where they no longer need to be isolated.

Cases distributed across age groups and regions

People in their 20s are still the age group with the most confirmed cases in the state – more than 92,000 since the start of the pandemic, including more than 48,000 among those aged 20 to 24.

The number of high school age youth confirmed with the disease has also increased, with more than 38,000 total cases among those aged 15 to 19 since the start of the pandemic.

With children increasingly returning to school buildings and sports, Minnesota public health officials are urging Minnesota families with children to get tested every two weeks for COVID-19 until the end of the year. ‘school year.

Although young people are less likely to feel the worst effects of the disease and end up in hospital, experts fear that young people may unknowingly pass it on to older parents and members of other vulnerable populations.

People can have the coronavirus and spread COVID-19 when they don’t have symptoms.

Regionally, most parts of Minnesota are down significantly from the peak in late November and early December, as well as slightly higher in January.

The number of people of color remains the heaviest

In Minnesota and across the country, COVID-19 has disproportionately hit communities of color in both cases and deaths. This has been especially true for Hispanic Minnesotans during much of the pandemic.

Even though the number of new cases continues to follow well below their highs in late November, early December, data shows Latinos continue to be hit hard.

Distrust of the government, as well as deep-rooted health and economic disparities, have hampered efforts to step up testing among communities of color, officials say, especially among unauthorized immigrants who fear their information. personal data are not used to expel them.

Walz acknowledged that mistrust of communities of color has been a problem during the pandemic. Officials offered immunization data disaggregated by race and ethnicity on Friday.

Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said the state was determined to do more to expand access to vaccines for people of color, including getting more doses to community pharmacies, partnering with local groups and deploying mobile vaccination clinics.

UK outbreak at Carver Co. linked to youth sports

Minnesota health officials continue to warn of a growing outbreak of the British strain COVID-19 centered on youth sports in Carver County. They recommend, but do not order, a two-week suspension from youth sports in the county amid the outbreak.

Since the end of January, there have been at least 80 cases of COVID-19 linked to school and club sports in the county of the metro area. Of those, 27 have been confirmed to be the UK variant, state officials said on Monday.

Walz said Tuesday morning that the Health Department would likely add 40 more cases to that tally.

Epidemiologists have also seen an increase in cases of variants in the UK at gyms and fitness centers in Carver County – many of which are linked to cases of youth sports. The state will open a COVID-19 testing center in Chanhassen in response.

The growth of the variant presents an “additional risk that we may see a further increase in cases, and we need everyone to do their part to prevent that from happening,” Kris Ehresmann, director of infectious diseases at the ‘State.

Many of these confirmed cases are young people who are not online for the short-term vaccine.

It’s not just a Carver County problem, she added, noting that 15 counties had at least one confirmed case of the variant. Minnesota currently has 187 confirmed cases.

The British strain is considered to be more transmissible than other variants of the coronavirus. While researchers don’t believe it’s more deadly on its own, its ease of spread can lead to more deaths.

“We are making progress with vaccines,” she said, “but it’s a race against time.”

---

COVID-19 in Minnesota

The data in these charts is based on cumulative totals from the Minnesota Department of Health released at 11 a.m. daily. You can find more detailed statistics on COVID-19 at Department of Health website.

---

Main titles

Eligibility for ND vaccine extends beyond the elderly to younger people, some essential workers: By Wednesday, about 3 million Minnesotans will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, as the state hits a key milestone in vaccinating its population 65 and older.

Fully vaccinated people can assemble without a mask, says the CDC: Fully vaccinated Americans can congregate with other vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or social distancing, according to long-awaited advice from federal health officials.

COVID vaccinations are central to a long-standing agenda to tackle health care inequalities: For 15 years, an M Health Fairview program has worked to address inequalities in health care. This effort is now focused on delivering the COVID-19 vaccine to communities that often have not had equal access to health care.