COVID-19: Coverage of the pandemic from MPR News

The latest news, resources, guides and tips to help you stay up to date on the coronavirus pandemic.

Stay up-to-date Daily data and trends | Sign up for weekly analysis of the latest data

Guides and tips Booster FAQ | Masks | Submit your questions | Tips for parents | Mental health resources

Guide our coverage: Pandemic reflections survey

An eight month old, baby sits

Here's why COVID vaccines for young children may be hard to find right now

October 13, 2023 4:04 PM

There are widespread delays in the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain from both Pfizer and Moderna. That’s made it hard for health systems to schedule appointments, especially for young children.

A nurse gives a Pfizer-BioNTech booster shot

COVID-19 ticks down in Minnesota, Flu and RSV barely present

October 13, 2023 2:37 PM

By Elisabeth Gawthrop and Craig Helmstetter

Emergency room visits for COVID-19 have dropped during the last couple of weeks in Minnesota. While there is no guarantee that trend will continue, there has been a longer downward trend for the United States as a whole.

Katalin Kariko,Drew Weissman

Nobel in medicine goes to 2 scientists whose work enabled creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19

October 2, 2023 6:05 AM

By The Associated Press

Two scientists have won the Nobel Prize in medicine for discoveries that enabled the development of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 and could be used in the future to create other shots.

A kid receives Covid-19 vaccination

The latest on preventing the big three respiratory viruses: COVID, flu and RSV

September 29, 2023 2:10 PM

By Benjamin Clary and Elisabeth Gawthrop

We’re entering a challenging time of year, when COVID-19, flu and RSV collide. Get the latest information on preventive measures for each, as well as data on how much COVID is circulating in Minnesota.

There's high demand for this fall's COVID shots, which offer protection against circulating variants of omicron. But there's been some distribution hiccups.

This year's COVID vaccine rollout is off to a bumpy start, despite high demand

September 27, 2023 12:27 PM

By Yuki Noguchi and Carmel Wroth

Some people are finding pharmacies still don't have supply of the shots, and others are having insurance coverage troubles. Here's what's going on.

Tall light brown building

Duluth office-to-apartment conversion sparks downtown revitalization hope

September 22, 2023 1:37 PM

A Duluth developer announced plans this week to convert a 50-year old downtown office building into apartments. It’s the first of what the city hopes will be several office-to-housing conversions in the next several years as Duluth works to revitalize its downtown post-pandemic.

Stalls stand empty at the covid test center

Biden administration announces $600M to produce COVID tests and will reopen website to order them

September 20, 2023 6:09 PM

By The Associated Press

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is providing $600 million in funding to produce new at-home COVID-19 tests and is restarting a website allowing Americans to again order up to four free tests per household.

Three women hold up a book titled "Just Breathe."

'Just Breathe' honors stories of health care workers in one hospital's COVID-19 unit

September 20, 2023 1:41 PM

By Cathy Wurzer and Alanna Elder

Nurse Lisa Kilgard and her colleagues wrote a book to help people remember what the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic was like for health care providers on the front lines.

Boxes of rapid covid test

Minnesota sees demand rising for at-home COVID tests

September 19, 2023 10:50 AM

By Carly Berglund

The Minnesota Department of Health is seeing requests rise for its free COVID-19 self-test program. The state program allows households to order four free self-tests, while supplies last.

A sticker reading "I Got My Covid-19 Vaccine"

COVID-19 trends upward as new boosters arrive

September 15, 2023 1:10 PM

By Craig Helmstetter

Newly-released tests of the boosters are so far suggesting it is largely effective against the most commonly circulating COVID-19 variants — as well as the emerging BA.2.86 variant.