ST PAUL, Minn. — Monday, March 1
- Vaccines administered Thursday, Friday exceed 127,000 doses
- Johnson & Johnson vaccine receives emergency approval
- MDH: 636 new COVID-19 cases, three deaths reported Monday
- Walz: 70% of Minnesotans ages 65-plus will be vaccinated before other groups are eligible
- Johnson & Johnson vaccine expected to arrive in Wisconsin next week
4:30 p.m.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services says the state is expected to receive about 47,000 doses of the newly approved single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine next week.
“The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is going to be a game changer for our statewide response to COVID-19,” said Gov. Tony Evers in a press release. “One of the biggest hurdles we have faced is supply, and this will get more vaccine into Wisconsin. This vaccine also protects people and has been shown to prevent serious illness from the virus after just one dose, which makes it more accessible to Wisconsinites and reduces the burden on our vaccine providers.”
For more information about Wisconsin's allocation strategy and the current vaccines, visit the DHS COVID-19 vaccine website.
3:30 p.m.
State health officials say Minnesota should receive more than 45,000 doses of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in the first shipment this week.
According to Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) spokesperson John Schadl, the order for the first shipment of the new single-dose vaccine went in on Sunday night, and they generally take a couple of days to process and receive.
The first shipment of 45,200 doses allocated to Minnesota will be delivered sometime this week. Future allocations could be less, as they are dependent upon how much of the vaccine is manufactured.
"More doses of safe and effective vaccine in the state means more people can get protected more quickly," reads a statement MDH issued on Monday. "The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a game-changer that will help us quickly provide immunity to even more Minnesotans. This vaccine is safe, virtually 100% effective at preventing hospitalization and death in people 18 and older, and requires only one dose."
11 a.m.
Anticipated shipments of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine should only add optimism to Minnesota's immunization effort, which documented its highest numbers late last week.
Data shared on the state's vaccine dashboard page shows just under 70,000 doses (68,464) were administered Thursday, followed by nearly 60,000 (59,127) Friday. Those are the highest vaccination numbers since Minnesota began it's immunization efforts, due to the fact that providers received multiple shipments last week, some of them caused by delays from the winter storms down south.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) says as of Saturday, 902,242 people have received at least one dose, with 467,300 of those completing the two-shot series. At this point, 16.2% of the state's 5.6 million people are at least partially immunized.
On Monday, MDH reported 636 new COVID-19 cases, based on 19,374 tests (18,208 PCR, 1,166 antigen) processed over the weekend. Testing volume was low, as it regularly is on Mondays. The new cases bring Minnesota's total since the start of the pandemic to 485,230, with 23,703 of those cases being documented with antigen tests.
Health experts consider a positive PCR test a confirmed COVID case, while a positive antigen test is considered probable.
Three more deaths to COVID were documented, bringing total of fatalities in the state to 6,486. Of those deaths 4,057, or 62% of them, are tied to long-term care or assisted living settings.
As of Sunday, 230 people were being treated for coronavirus in hospitals across the state, with 47 of them requiring ICU care. Availability of non-ICU beds is up slightly across the Twin Cities metro, with an open bed rate of 3.6% (133 open).
Total hospitalizations since the onset of the pandemic have climbed to 25,727, with 5,308 of those patients being treated in the ICU.
Of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, 471,647 people have passed the point where they are required to isolate.
Young adults between the ages of 20 and 24 comprise the largest group of Minnesota's COVID cases, with 48,296 and three deaths, while those 25 to 29 are linked to 43,349 and six deaths. The population hit with the most coronavirus-related fatalities are people 85 to 89, with 1,229 deaths in just 6,248 diagnosed cases.
Hennepin County has recorded the most COVID activity in the state with 100,680 cases and 1,585 deaths, followed by Ramsey County with 43,047 cases and 801 deaths, Dakota County with 36,254 cases and 390 deaths, and Anoka County with 33,274 cases and 384 fatalities.
Cook County in northeast Minnesota reports the least COVID activity with 118 cases since the pandemic began.
Sunday, Feb. 28
11 a.m.
The percentage of Minnesotans who have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose continues to creep higher.
As of Friday -- the latest vaccination numbers reported by the Minnesota Department of Health -- 878,346 people in the state have received at least one dose. That's roughly 15.8%. Of that group, 452,562 have received a full series of doses.
As for specific groups, 51% of Minnesota residents who are 65 and older have received at least one dose.
New cases remained under 1,000 Sunday, as they have for most of the past week. MDH reported 813 new cases and 8 new deaths.
MDH's COVID-19 case definition includes both antigen testing and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. Positive PCR test results are considered confirmed cases, while positive antigen test results are considered probable cases.
Sunday's new case total includes 666 confirmed cases and 147 probable cases.
The total number of Minnesotans who have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began is now 484,594, with 23,591 of those as antigen test results.
MDH says 8 new deaths from the virus were reported. That pushes the total number of fatalities in Minnesota to 6,483.
To date, 25,719 Minnesotans have been hospitalized with the coronavirus since the pandemic started, with 5,306 of them needing care in the ICU.
MDH reports that 470,819 people once diagnosed with the virus have passed the point where they are required to isolate.
Of those who have tested positive, people between the ages of 20-24 account for the most cases with 48,233 cases and three deaths, and ages 25-29 follow with 43,297 cases and six deaths. Those between 85 and 89 years old account for the highest number of fatalities in one age group with 1,229 out of 6,246 diagnosed cases.
In terms of likely exposure to the coronavirus, MDH says 108,349 cases were the result of community transmission with no known contact with an infected person, and 99,958 had known contact with a person who has a confirmed case.
A total of 39,160 cases involved exposure in a congregate living setting,
7,939 were in a corrections setting, and 1,093 were in a homeless shelter. MDH data shows 18,912 were linked to an outbreak outside of congregate living or health care.
MDH says 33,242 cases were linked to travel. Health care workers or patients account for 14,773 diagnosed COVID-19 cases. The source of transmission for 161,168 cases is still unknown or missing.
MDH has prioritized testing for people in congregate care, hospitalized patients and health care workers, which may impact the scale of those numbers. However, now MDH is urging anyone who is symptomatic or even asymptomatic to be tested. Testing locations can be found online.
Hennepin County has had the most COVID activity in the state with
100,538 cases and 1,584 deaths, followed by Ramsey County with
43,006 cases and 800 deaths, Dakota County with 36,180 cases and 389
deaths, and Anoka County with 33,231 cases and 384 deaths.
Full data, including a breakdown of PCR and antigen test totals in some categories, can be found on MDH's website.
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The state of Minnesota has set up a data portal online at mn.gov/covid19.