Minnesota will launch a Covid-19 vaccination pilot program on Tuesday, but a shortage of vaccines means it will remain unavailable to most people, Gov. Tim Walz said Monday.
Starting Tuesday at noon, people aged 65 and older can sign up to receive the vaccine at mn.gov/vaccine. Once they secure an appointment, Minnesotans can go to one of nine sites to receive the vaccine. But the sites will go online with only 12,000 shots between them, meaning most people will initially be met with disappointment.
Teachers and childcare workers will also start to receive vaccines, but that will be coordinated through their employers, Walz said.
The 12,000 figure is particularly dispiriting because the population targeted by the pilot program totals more than 1 million people — about 388,000 over 75 years old, 530,000 between 65 and 75 years old and 250,000 teachers and childcare workers.
Pilot sites will go online in the following cities:
- Anoka;
- Brooklyn Center;
- Fergus Falls;
- Marshall;
- Mountain Iron;
- North Mankato;
- Rochester;
- St. Cloud;
- and Thief River Falls.
Walz expressed frustration with the federal government over a lack of vaccine supply. When the state announced last week it was opening vaccinations up to Minnesotans aged 65 and older, it said it was doing so at the urging of the Trump administration, which promised it would make millions of vaccine doses that were previously kept in surplus available. But it became clear later in the week that the stockpile didn't actually exist, and states wouldn't have extra vaccine to support their more ambitious plans.
That means it's going to be hard for newly eligible people to get a chance at a vaccination.
"Just because you’re in an eligible category doesn’t mean you’re going to get vaccinated in the next few days," said Jan Malcolm, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Health.
The aim of the pilot program is to replicate the success of Minnesota's Covid-19 testing program, which is now considered one of the best in the United States. The purpose of the pilot program is to prepare the state for when it starts to receive more vaccine doses, though when that will be isn't clear.
The new plan isn't to be confused with Phase 1b, the state's previously announced plan to vaccinate people aged 75 and older and frontline essential workers that was scheduled to begin in February. The timetable for vaccinating people who were included in Phase 1b but aren't covered by the pilot program is now unclear.
Minnesota is currently receiving about 60,000 doses each week. Minnesota's health systems have received over 400,000 doses so far and are close to finishing Phase 1a, which focuses on frontline health care workers and people in long-term care facilities.
Over 194,000 Minnesotans have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, while over 38,000 have received two shots (both of the vaccines currently available require two shots). The state has now used 45% of its vaccine supply, up from one-third last week. In 2021, the rate of vaccinations has been about 70,000 shots a week, meaning vaccines are being given out faster than they're being received.
But it could be moving even faster. Andrea Walsh, the president and CEO of HealthPartners said that her system could provide more vaccines in a single day than it currently does in a week if it had a greater supply.
“Our clinics and our health care systems across Minnesota have what it takes to vaccinate a lot of people fast," she said.
