MINNESOTA — Health department officials revealed the state has more than 144,503 people with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The state released an online vaccine dashboard on Tuesday , breaking down how many vaccines and vaccinated people are in each county. It will be updated daily.
Minnesota started the week with a low number of people vaccinated compared to the supply they have. The state's Infectious Disease Director, Kris Ehresman, said this is because some of the vaccines still need time to be shipped to their final destinations.
"That's why when you look at numbers like doses promised or doses shipped, they look much bigger than doses administered," Ehresman said.
Minnesota's vaccine distribution plan could be impacted by today's announcement from Trump administration. The president's task force is now asking all states to make the vaccine available to people aged 65 and older.
In a press conference call Tuesday morning, Ehresman said this would impact distribution phase 1B, but they are not sure how yet. This phase was initially aimed at people like teachers and law enforcement officers.
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Since the announcement, health officials said they have not yet been able to order more vaccine doses.
"No additional doses have been shipped to Minnesota, and no additional doses have arrived," Ehresman explained. "We are hopeful about today's announcement by the federal government, but we need follow through."
Mahnomen county has the highest percentage of people vaccinated in the entire state, with more than 12.9 percent of its population given at least one dose.
