On Thursday, Senate Republicans applauded Governor Walz’s decision to allow hospitals and vaccine providers to vaccinate individuals aged 65 and older. Senators have been pressuring Governor Walz to speed up vaccination processes by working with local partners and considering all options. Minnesota’s COVID-19 vaccination roll-out has been slower than the national average and much slower than our neighboring states.
“As a state that prides itself on its health care ranking, learning that we rank 23 in the nation is not good enough,” said Senator Mark Koran (R-North Branch). “We have the systems in place, the providers available, and the facilities to expedite our roll-out. Having an efficient distribution plan should be a top priority for our state. Our Governor must work with the legislature as well as local providers to ensure that as soon as vaccines come in the door, they go out to Minnesotans that need them.”
The State Vaccine Advisory group met earlier this week to discuss Governor Walz’s current vaccination plan. Previously, seniors will be phased into vaccination efforts over three total phases. The percentage of distributed vaccines that have been administered in Minnesota is at 36%, while neighboring states North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa are at 74%, 58%, and 47%, respectively. According to the Federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), COVID-19 mortality rates are also highest among older adults. Compared with persons aged 35-54 years, those aged 65-74 years have eight times higher risk, and those aged 75 years and older have over a thirty times higher risk for COVID-19 deaths.
A number of Minnesota residents who testified in Senate committees this week cited concerns over the lack of communication to the public, nonexistent transparency regarding decisions being made about vaccination phases, the withholding of doses, and seniors not receiving a priority timeline.
The CDC recently advised states they could vaccinate individuals 65 years and older. Other states had begun doing this much earlier than Minnesota.