More than 140,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Minnesota, where state health leaders will begin discussion Monday on how to get the next wave of shots to the elderly and essential front-line workers.
The updated tally from the Minnesota Department of Health means the state's providers have given first doses of the two-dose vaccine to nearly a third of the initial priority group of 500,000 health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities.
State health officials are hoping to accelerate the pace of vaccinations against a pandemic that is showing some signs of increased activity after the holidays.
The state reported only four COVID-19 deaths on Monday — the lowest single-day total since late October — as well as 980 diagnosed infections with the novel coronavirus that causes the respiratory disease. Daily COVID-19 numbers have been lower on Mondays throughout the pandemic, reflecting reduced testing and reporting on the weekends.
On the other hand, the seven-day average positivity rate of diagnostic testing has continued to increase from 4.7% on Dec. 24 to 7.1% on Dec. 31.
The number of Minnesota hospital beds filled with COVID-19 patients also crept up from 666 on Saturday to 686 on Sunday. The state had seen a steady decline until now in COVID-19 hospitalizations since a peak at 1,864 on Nov. 29.
Minnesota has followed guidance from the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and earmarked limited initial supplies of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to the 1a priority group of health care workers at greater risk of infection, and long-term care residents at greater risk of severe illness due to their ages and underlying health conditions.
Monday's additions brought the state's totals in the pandemic to 5,711 COVID-19 deaths and 437,552 infections. Residents of long-term care make up 64% of the total COVID-19 deaths in the state.
