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Along with the annual flu vaccine, the new COVID-19 vaccine formulation is now widely available in Minnesota. The 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging everyone 6 months and older to get an updated COVID-19 vaccine

, which is a protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death.  

, which currently impacts more than seven percent of adults in Minnesota 

” update from the state’s health department led with this summary:  

That is the same update that they’ve used for a few weeks now, but it is an apt one: Like the previous 5 weeks, Minnesota's COVID-19 hospitalization rate stands at nearly five per 10,000, the highest it has been since early February.  

Flu and RSV season is just around the corner, but Minnesota Department of Health's data, updated through the week ending Sept. 14, is still showing close to zero hospitalizations for each. 

A quick look at some other communicable diseases 

Several other diseases that are transmissible human to human, many of which can be prevented by vaccination, have been in the local, national and international news recently. Here is a quick summary of the latest stats from the Minnesota Department of Health:  

Data from other public health concerns, including 

Minnesota Department of Public Safety is reporting 334 lives lost to traffic accidents

 on Minnesota roadways so far this year.  

Another strain of flu present in domesticated animals – known as bird flu, highly pathogenic avian influenza, or more specifically H5N1 – 

. Cases have been detected in cows and goats nationally as well as here in Minnesota, with a few cases showing up among people in other states working on dairy farms.  

As reported by the Center for Disease Research and Policy

, Public health officials continue to monitor whether H5N1 could further mutate into a disease transmissible human-to-human, especially in light of the sickness of two Missouri health care workers following their work with a patient with H5N1. That patient had no known exposure to cows or other sick patients.   

The spread of H5N1 among animals appears to be slowing, with 

no new cases reported by the Minnesota Board of Animal Health in the state’s many chicken and turkey flocks since July

Minnesota Department of Health recently reported that 

two children caught a different animal flu strain, H3N2v, either directly or indirectly through exposure to pigs

 at the state fair. Both recovered and the department does not expect further spread.  

More on COVID-19: levels are up in wastewater, as are deaths 

the University of Minnesota’s ongoing Wastewater Surveillance Study

 shows that statewide COVID-19 levels are now higher than measured all year, including the high during the wave in December 2023 into January 2024. Regionally, the most severe spike is in the study’s Northeast region, which appears especially driven by increases at the Mora and Central Iron Range treatment plants.  

Statewide COVID-19 wastewater levels are higher than they have been since April of 2023. In the Twin Cities region levels now match those last seen in March of 2023 and in Northeast levels are up to what they were in February of 2023.  

Graph showing COVID-19 level measured in Minnesota wastewater

The good news is that COVID-19 levels appear to be dropping in the study’s South Central, South East, Northwest and Central regions. Also, it is worth noting that while wastewater is a leading indicator, so far COVID-19 hospitalizations have not yet followed suit; hospitalizations are elevated, but matching the levels seen in February of this year, not the much higher peak in late December 2023. 

In addition to the “elevated and stable” COVID-19 hospitalization rate

, the Minnesota Department of Health is reporting an increased number of deaths

 caused at least in part by COVID-19. After being in the single digits through most of June and July the health department has reported 20 or more deaths in four of the last seven weeks, including in the preliminary data for the week ending Sept. 14, which is likely to rise as additional information comes in. 

Craig Helmstetter

Author

Along with the annual flu vaccine, the new COVID-19 vaccine formulation is now widely available in Minnesota. It comes at a time when COVID-19 hospitalization rates remain stable but elevated and deaths are increasing. In addition, wastewater data shows higher COVID-19 levels than measured in all of 2024.

New vaccines arrive as COVID-19 wastewater levels reach 2024 highpoint

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