On Monday, Senate Republicans released their “Seniors 1st” plan, and we urged Governor Walz to place seniors as the first priority in his updated vaccination plans. The Governor announced that 35,000 doses of the COVID vaccine would be sent to 100 additional sites across the state, allocated specifically for seniors. It was also announced the nine pilot sites throughout the state would be decreased to three under the Governor’s updated plan.  

“Senate Republicans want our seniors to know that when it comes to COVID vaccinations, we believe they should come first,” said Bill Ingebrigtsen (R-Alexandria). “We know our seniors are at the highest risk for hospitalization, illness, and death from COVID, so why hasn’t this administration made them the focus? Rather than continue to change the goalposts, this administration must deliver an effective plan that prioritizes on making the vaccine accessible to all our seniors until we have substantially more doses.”

 As of February 1, there have been over 6,000 COVID-19 deaths in Minnesota. Of those, 90% have been attributed to seniors 65 and older. The state has distributed more than 444,000 vaccines, yet only 25% have been allocated to Minnesotans 65 and older. The “Seniors 1st” plan proposed by Sen. Housley would move towards blanketing the entire states with vaccine sites through community pharmacies already equipped to store, schedule, and administer vaccinations.  

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Watch the press conference here.