Credit: Office of the Governor, YouTube
Gov. Tim Walz is expected to announce the expansion of Minnesota’s vaccination program while holding a press conference Tuesday morning.
The governor will speak at 9:30 a.m., discussing “next steps in the distribution of Minnesota’s COVID-19 vaccine” alongside Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm.
Walz had previously said Minnesota would move on to its next phase of vaccinations once the state had gotten 70 percent of those over 65 to receive at least one dose of vaccine.
As of Saturday, 66% of Minnesota’s over-65s had received a dose of two-shot Modern or Pfizer vaccines or the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine.
Given the speed at which the acceleration of vaccine administration in recent weeks was possible, as the federal government obtained more vaccine supplies, it is possible that the figure of 70% has already been reached.
If this is the case, it could be a matter of days before vaccines become available for the next stretch of priority Minnesota, including those with certain chronic health conditions, and some essential workers, including those in the packaging industry. meat, who have a higher risk of suffering by contracting COVID-19.
Below is the launch plan released by the governor a few weeks ago, when Minnesota was projected to reach 70% of those over 65 by the end of March.
Since it was published, some changes have been introduced, including the addition of type 1 diabetes, ALS, and cystic fibrosis to the list of “high-risk health conditions” in “Early Spring,” while some system workers judicial and health care workers who were not included in the previous release have been added to the “Essential Workers Oriented” section.
State of Minnesota