Senator Karin Housley (R-Stillwater) today released the following statement in response to the announcement of Minnesota surpassing one million vaccine doses distributed:

“While I’m happy to see Minnesota making strides in its vaccination efforts, three weeks ago I said we need to put “seniors first” before we move on to vaccinating other groups. So far, only 41% of those receiving these doses are seniors, and only 28% of those fully vaccinated with two doses are seniors 65+. These numbers are embarrassing for a Governor that claims to be prioritizing seniors. Less than 9% of our senior population is fully protected with two doses, yet the Governor and the Minnesota Department of health continue to discuss expanding vaccinations to other groups. I’m appalled that in order to even sign up, our seniors have to answer invasive questions before getting access to receive the shot. I want to know why it matters what our seniors’ gender identities and sexual orientations are. Governor Walz and MDH need to finally do what they’ve been claiming to do this entire time—give the seniors priority and make vaccines available to members of the 65+ population that want to be vaccinated, then we can move on. It’s all about how we prioritize weekly vaccines—89% of COVID deaths are seniors, so they should be getting 89% of the weekly vaccines, not 41%.”