Governor Tim Walz said Friday morning that Minnesota was among several states to receive less COVID-19 vaccines than anticipated.
Walz told WCCO Radio's Dave Lee during the WCCO Morning News that the state received just 60 percent of the promised vaccines.
"I am still confident that the federal government can get this but I am concerned on this because we've been working on this for months. Minnesota is prepared on this," said Walz.
Walz said months of work in Minnesota led them to knowing key pieces of information about the vaccine's arrival in Minnesota including when the shipment landed, when it transferred to FedEx, and exactly when it would arrive at the VA Medical Clinic in Minneapolis.
"The federal government kept changing and we were hesitant to put out numbers because we were afraid of putting them out and having them change," Walz said. "They did change."
With an approval of Moderna's vaccine likely coming soon, Walz remains confident in the supply chain for COVID-19 vaccines.
He told Lee that the federal government must remain as vigilant with the rollout as the states have been.
"This comes during a transition, which is hard, but there is only one president at a time. Donald Trump is the president. It's his administration," Walz said. "I was confident, and hopefully remain so, that they had set-up a pretty good plan to do the vaccine. They put a lot of it on the state and I can assure Minnesotans we've done our work. We were the model for the rest of the country."
Despite vaccine numbers being short, Walz said it could be early hiccups in the massive rollout taking place.
"I certainly hope that's the case," he said. "It doesn't encourage me when Pfizer tells us they have vaccines in a warehouse. Those need to get out. We are ready. The minute they hit the ground here in Minnesota within 24 hours or so we can have them in arms and start moving back towards getting this thing righted."
Pfizer has said there are no issues with the production and distribution of its COVID-19 vaccine.
