March 17 update on COVID-19 in MN: Officials expect J&J vaccine doses to jump
3 things to know:
Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan quarantining through March 25 following a possible COVID-19 exposure
About 23 percent of Minnesotans with at least 1 vaccine dose; officials expect big jump in one-shot Johnson & Johnson doses
Uptick in active cases, hospitalizations; Carver Co. outbreak concerns continue
Updated: 3 p.m.
State public health leaders offered some upbeat news Wednesday in the race to vaccinate Minnesotans quickly enough to avoid another statewide COVID-19 surge: Minnesota’s supply of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected to jump in the coming weeks.
Federal projections indicate the state may start receiving 100,000 doses a week of the J&J vaccine in April. Because it requires only one dose, it could speed up the pace of vaccinations, which has flattened recently.
The state received about 45,000 doses in early March but relatively little since then. The feds, though, have “alluded to many more Johnson & Johnson doses becoming available,” Kris Ehresmann, the state’s infectious disease director, told reporters.
“We’ll have to see if that happens, but clearly they’re talking about ramping up with Johnson & Johnson,” she said.
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Her comments came hours after Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said they are quarantining through March 25 following a possible exposure to COVID-19.
The possible exposure was a reminder the pandemic isn’t over, Malcolm told reporters Wednesday afternoon. “While we can see (the end) from here, we absolutely have to take COVID-19 seriously,” she said.
Vaccination counts rebound
COVID-19 vaccination counts bounced back Wednesday following a dismal Tuesday report, but the overall pace continues to struggle for traction.
The Health Department reported about 32,000 more vaccinations, up significantly from the prior Wednesday and much higher than the 7,500 reported Tuesday.
The seven-day trend is now running about 41,000 shots daily, roughly where it’s been the past 10 days. The flat pace isn’t necessarily a problem as Minnesota expects to see federal vaccine shipments jump in coming weeks.
State officials are increasingly anxious about the growth in cases tied to the highly contagious U.K. COVID-19 variant and to youth sports.
Nearly 747,000 people — 13.4 percent of the state’s population — have completed their vaccinations, while nearly 1.3 million — just over 23 percent — have received at least one dose, including more than 76 percent of people age 65 and older.
Officials continue to urge Minnesotans to stay vigilant against the disease, wearing masks in public gathering spaces and socially distancing.
Uptick in hospitalizations; Carver Co. concerns
Minnesota’s COVID-19 numbers show disease conditions relatively stable, but there are some caution lights flashing.
There has been a noticeable rise recently in the number of known, active cases. Wednesday marked six consecutive days with counts above 8,000, a stretch not seen since late January.
While the overall trend remains mostly flat and current counts are still very low compared to late November and early December, the increase is notable given the concerns about the rise of the U.K. COVID-19 strain in Minnesota.
Hospitalization rates remain mostly at levels last seen before the late-fall surge in cases, but there has been a noticeable uptick: 282 people were hospitalized as of Tuesday with 67 needing intensive care.
Seven newly reported deaths brought Minnesota’s collective pandemic death toll to 6,756. Among those who’ve died, about 63 percent had been living in long-term care or assisted living facilities; most had underlying health problems.
The state has recorded 499,962 total confirmed or probable cases so far in the pandemic, including 1,046 posted Wednesday. About 97 percent of Minnesotans known to be infected with COVID-19 in the pandemic have recovered to the point where they no longer need to be isolated.
State public health leaders remain anxious about a Carver County outbreak that includes the very contagious U.K. strain. Twelve people have been hospitalized statewide from that strain; two have died.
“We are very concerned about this (U.K.) variant and its rapid spread. It has the potential to be a setback to our continued and hard-fought progress against the disease,” Dan Huff, an assistant health commissioner, told reporters Monday.
With more than 250 cases of the U.K. variant confirmed statewide, it has the potential to spread throughout the state unless checked, Huff said. “We’re so close to the light at the end of the tunnel …. but this thing’s not over.”
The state is recommending young people across the state be tested every two weeks for COVID-19, with student athletes tested weekly; officials are also asking everyone in Carver County to get tested.
Cases spread across age groups, regions
People in their 20s still make up the age bracket with the state’s largest number of confirmed cases — more than 93,000 since the pandemic began, including more than 49,000 among those ages 20 to 24.
The number of high school-age youth confirmed with the disease has also grown, with nearly 40,000 total cases among those ages 15 to 19 since the pandemic began.
With kids increasingly returning to school buildings and sports, Minnesota public health officials are urging Minnesota families with children to get tested every two weeks for COVID-19 now until the end of the school year.
Although young people are less likely to feel the worst effects of the disease and end up hospitalized, experts worry youth will spread it unknowingly to older relatives and members of other vulnerable populations.
People can have the coronavirus and spread COVID-19 when they don’t have symptoms.
Regionally, all parts of Minnesota are in significantly better shape than they were in late November and early December. Some areas are seeing upticks in cases.
While officials monitor the recent uptick in active cases, overall trends have improved to the point where Gov. Tim Walz on Friday announced a rollback of many of the state’s remaining pandemic restrictions. “Normalcy is on the horizon,” Walz said.
Caseloads among people of color
In Minnesota and across the country, COVID-19 has hit communities of color disproportionately hard in both cases and deaths. That’s been especially true for Minnesotans of Hispanic descent for much of the pandemic.
Even as new case counts continue to track well below their late November, early December peaks, the data shows Latino people continue to be hit hard.
Distrust of the government, together with deeply rooted health and economic disparities, have hampered efforts to boost testing among communities of color, officials say, especially among unauthorized immigrants who fear their personal information may be used to deport them.
Walz has acknowledged that distrust by communities of color has been a problem during the pandemic. Officials have offered up some data on vaccinations broken down by race and ethnicity. The state is expected to update the data weekly.
Malcolm has said the state is committed to doing more to expand vaccine access to people of color, including getting more doses to community pharmacies, partnering with local groups and deploying mobile vaccination clinics.
Long-term care visiting rules loosened
New guidance will allow for more visits and social activities at Minnesota long-term care facilities.
Facilities should be allowed indoor visitations at all times and for all residents regardless of whether they are vaccinated, except for a few circumstances when visitations should be limited due to the high risk of spreading COVID-19.
Residents will no longer be required to isolate after visits as long as they follow other safety protocols and risk levels in individual facilities remain low.
Inside those settings, communal dining will be more common with proper social distancing along with other group activities such as bingo.
The Health Department updated the guidance Wednesday. It now follows federal Centers for Disease Control and prevention advice for places where case counts are dropping and vaccinations are increasing.
COVID-19 in Minnesota
Data in these graphs are based on the Minnesota Department of Health's cumulative totals released at 11 a.m. daily. You can find more detailed statistics on COVID-19 at the Health Department website.
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