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.
“While our state is in the early stages of our vaccine roll-out, healthcare workers and seniors must be prioritized,” said Senator Bill Weber (R-Luverne). “I applaud this administration for changing course with its decision to vaccinate our more vulnerable Minnesotans who are aged 65 and older.”
“Yet I remain concerned about Minnesota’s vaccine distribution to date,” continued Sen. Weber. “Minnesota continues to rank behind our neighbors, a sign that we have more work to do. Republicans and Democrats share a common goal here. We want the vaccination available to whoever ever wants it as quickly as possible. Hopefully, by working together, we can speed up our distribution, protect lives, and get Minnesota back on track.”
The State Vaccine Advisory group met earlier this week to discuss Governor Walz’s current vaccination plan. Previously, seniors were to 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.