MDH COVID-19 briefing: Walz, health officials update vaccination progress, preach continued vigilance over holidays

Tuesday, Gov. Tim Walz joined Minnesota health officials to give the latest COVID-19 update ahead of the holidays.

On the day the state surpassed 400,000 total COVID-19 cases during the pandemic, Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm and Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann expressed three messages: hope, patience and continued vigilance.

As the state continues to receive more doses of COVID-19 vaccines, more and more health care workers are being vaccinated.

Ehresmann said 2,999 health care workers have been vaccinated in Minnesota, as of Tuesday. Ehresmann has said MDH hopes to have all Minnesotans in Phase 1A of the vaccination plan receive their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of January.

KSTP’s complete COVID-19 coverage

Minnesota is set to begin receiving 94,800 doses of the Moderna vaccine this week, Ehresmann said, with most of that likely to arrive Wednesday. Ehresmann said Moderna’s vaccine doesn’t require such cold storage as the Pfizer vaccine, making Moderna’s doses easier to work with.

The continued developments with vaccines and the progress the state is making in getting Minnesotans vaccinated are big reasons for hope, Ehresmann said, noting that Minnesota will reach the point where vaccines will be widely available where everyone who wants to be vaccinated can do so. However, that will take some time, which is why Ehresmann and Malcolm have preached patience.

While the MDH officials said they are happy about the high demand for the vaccine, the processes approved by federal health officials have to be followed, which takes time. However, they noted that the state receives new allotments of vaccines each week, meaning more and more people continue to be vaccinated, which brings us closer to that time when all Minnesotans can receive their doses.

Until that time, Walz and the health officials urged Minnesotans to remain vigilant in stopping the spread of COVID-19 by following health guidelines and continuing to wear masks, social distance and stay home when feeling sick.

"We know how much fatigue there is, we know how difficult it is to forgo some of our very favorite things and traditions this time of year, especially after such a very, very difficult year, but it’s making a difference," Malcolm said.

Below are some of the other highlights from Tuesday’s call:

• Minnesota’s seven-day average test positivity rate is at 8.4%, down almost 2% from a week ago and also the fifth consecutive day it’s been below the high-risk threshold of 10%.
• The state’s case growth per 100,000 residents remains around 63 per day. Anything higher than 10 new cases per day per 100,000 residents is considered out of control.
• Walz said MDH continues to monitor the latest data and keep him apprised of the situation, and he’s in contact with school and business leaders on reopening plans. If the state continues trending in the right direction, Walz said he plans on lifting restrictions when they expire on Jan. 10.
• State officials are now expecting to have received around 250,000 total doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year. Initially, the state was told it’d have about 320,000 doses by then but later was changed to 186,000 doses.

MDH: 24 new COVID-19 deaths, 1,714 newly reported cases