State health department officials say Minnesota is going in the wrong direction with controlling COVID-19, and it mainly has to do with the unvaccinated.
“This is the second day in a row with more than 2,000 new cases, and 20 deaths,” said Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm. “These are numbers we had hoped we would not see again.”
Malcolm says she has grave concern for the state's health care and long term care facilities.
“Both in terms of their capacity to provide the full range of care to all those who need for any conditions, not just COVID,” Malcom says. “And the human impact on health care workers, who have been working for 18 months plus now under just incredibly stressful conditions.”
Meanwhile, Malcolm says they're waiting for guidance on rolling out booster shots for eligible people who have received the Pfizer vaccine. She says she expects booster information on the Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines in the next few weeks.
State health department officials say there will be plenty of Pfizer vaccine for booster shots, even as 5-to-11-year old kids become eligible.
“We in Minnesota are in a very different and much better situation today than we were in when vaccines first started rolling out late last December,” Malcolm explained. “Unlike then, when vaccines were in very short supply, vaccine providers already have a supply of vaccine on-hand.”
Commissioner Malcolm says they're waiting for additional guidance from the CDC on the booster rollout, including clarification on some of the eligible groups. Meanwhile, Malcolm continues to urge residents who haven't done so yet to get vaccinated. She says the Delta variant hasn't yet peaked in Minnestoa, with the second day in a row of significant numbers in cases and deaths in the state.
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