12-22 COVID-19 Update with Governor Walz

On Tuesday, Dec. 22, Governor Walz joined the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to provide updates on the COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Minnesota. This is a summary of that call. 

Gov. Tim Walz

• The days ahead are brighter, the vaccines are here. They’re being distributed as quickly and efficiently as we can.
• Talked to Pfizer leadership yesterday. They’ve been in contact with MDH regarding vaccine distribution.
• Moderna vaccines will arrive in the next 24 hours. 
• This is welcome news
• The folks at Pfizer say their supply chain is strong 
• Pfizer makes note that they’re helping other countries in addition to the U.S. 
• Walz is confident in Pfizer’s ability to follow-through
• This holiday period is not the same as normal because we can’t gather with family or go out for meals.
• I encourage Minnesotans to mask, social distance, wash hands, and get tested if necessary. 
• As we move into the next phase of vaccinations, that we don’t let our guard down on other things.
• We want to see our kids back to school and the hospitality industry going again.
• Pfizer says the vaccine won’t get us out of this alone. 
• This has been as difficult a year as we have ever seen, but the decisions that all Minnesotans have made stopped further spread, hospitalizations and death.

MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm

• In MN, 1,714 new cases of COVID-19 that came in on 32,195 tests
• Currently 1,060 in the hospital with COVID-19, 228 in ICU
• Hospital beds in use due to COVID have been falling steadily 
• Another 25 deaths, bringing us to a total of 4,896 in MN 
• Not sure if the lower number of deaths signifies a trend 
• The case growth does continue to trend downward while the weekly testing volumes remain stable
• But we can’t let our guard down. We still have high rates of transmission.
• Whether the trends continue or reverse depend on us keeping up the care that Minnesotans have been taking to minimize potential exposures 
• Vaccinations are an important next step in the journey 
• Vaccines will help us find the way out of the pandemic but we need to help maximize the impact by keeping community spread under control so that the vaccine can work as quickly as possible
• We know how difficult it is to forego our traditions, but it’s making a difference.
• We wish that the vaccine rollout would be a faster process, but it’s enormously complex
• It’s great to see so many groups coming forward asking to be vaccinated. We love to see interest in vaccinations.
• We are making sure that as we plan for the subsequent waves of vaccinations, our goal is that everyone who wants to be vaccinated can be.
• But we need to ensure an equitable distribution of vaccine. 
• “Immunizing for impact” 
• We know that the constantly changing information on who’s in the different priority groups, etc. can be hard to keep track of. We’re going to keep updating the progress in these briefings and on the MDH website
• Thanks to all Minnesotans and the press for your careful coverage of these issues

MDH Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann 

• We began receiving doses of the Pfizer vaccine last week
• 46,800 doses allocated to us were received. They were distributed throughout the state.
• Vaccination of health care workers happened first. So far, 2,999 health care workers who have already received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine 
• Doses of the Moderna vaccine will arrive in MN this week. We expect to get 94,800 doses, with most being delivered tomorrow.
• Moderna vaccine is being sent directly to providers who will vaccinate long term care residents and other members of Phase 1A Tier 1
• This Moderna vaccine doesn’t have the same requirements for ultra-cold temperature storage as the Pfizer vaccine. While there are still certain temperatures that it needs to be stored at, it can be a little easier for sites to manage. Though the Moderna vaccine will be used for vaccinating staff and residents at long term care facilities.
• Local public health is also receiving Moderna doses to vaccinate priority groups. 
• When we think about vaccinating our elders, there is a federal initiative called “The Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program” that has engaged pharmacists to vaccinate in long-term care settings. We have also identified state level pharmacy partners to help us get vaccines to long-term care facilities and provide vaccinations. Our highest priority settings, as highlighted in our allocation guidance are the skilled nursing facilities or nursing home settings and the staff in those facilities. Once we have vaccinated in those areas, we hope to quickly move into the assisted living and other congregate care settings as well. 
• We know long-term care facilities have been heavily impacted by COVID-19. The staff at these facilities have done tremendous work to put actions in place to reduce transmission and protect residents. Being able to begin vaccinations in these settings is another great step in the right direction to protect some of our most vulnerable. 
• We are closely tracking vaccine doses coming into the state and we are working with our partners to make sure that they are distributed and administered in a timely manner.
• However, the vaccine does come from the federal government so we don’t always have full control over how many doses we’ll receive or when they’ll arrive 
• As things change, we’ll keep people updated, including when we’ll be able to move into other phases of the vaccination.  
• Because it’s a fluid situation and we are dependent on the vaccine doses that we receive, giving the exact time on when we’ll be able to move on from Phase 1A to 1B is difficult. 
• We expect, those things could change, that we should be able to provide the first vaccines to people in Phase 1A by the end of January. 
• Now keep in mind that people need two doses of COVID vaccine for full protection, but with our vaccine allocation, the federal government is reserving second doses of the vaccine for all the doses that they already have sent to us. 
• So for the 46,800 doses of Pfizer that we received, there’s another 46,800 doses that are reserved to be sent to us after a couple of weeks. So those can be used to provide that second dose of vaccine to people who received their first dose already.
• So as we move through Phase 1A, we will be able to start into 1B before everyone in 1A has received their second dose because the federal government has already reserved those doses for them.
• We expect that most of the people in Priority Group 1A will have both doses sooner than the end of January. But we hope that just about everyone in that group has received at least their first dose by the end of next month. 
• Moving to Phase B does not necessarily have to wait for all of Phase 1A to receive both doses, but it will be based on vaccine supplies. 
• We have been proactively reaching out to providers who could be vaccinating in Phase 1B, so they can complete the necessary enrollment steps, including a provider agreement. And there is information on that on the MDH website. And we will reach out to those registered providers when vaccine is ready for them, so that the sites don’t need to reach out to us. 
• We will eventually get to the point where the vaccine is widely available, and we’re all anxious to get there. And we will. It’s just going to take time. 
• There are two messages — hope that the vaccine is here in MN and that people are beginning to be vaccinated, and patience because it will take a while for all of us to get to the point where it’s our turn to be vaccinated.

Additional Notes from the meeting

• Gov. Walz said one of the ways the state is going to use its testing capacity is to test in our schools, especially when kids in grades K-5 start getting back into the classroom to make sure that teachers and support staff has ample testing.
• The state is encouraging people, especially young people age 18-35, to get tested, especially when they’ve been notified that they’ve been exposed to the virus. This is true even if they’re asymptomatic. 
• As for why not as many people are getting tested as of late, Malcolm thinks people have been taking the four-week pause to heart (doing less socializing) and as a result, not feeling the timely need to be tested if they’re not out and about. 
• Walz says that countries that got COVID under control and got their economies back open were those counties that were early and robust with testing, contact tracing and isolation.
• Malcolm says the state is looking at populations that could be tested weekly. They’re talking about what populations might be willing to be part of such a program.
• Malcolm says the regional allocations of the vaccine is working well so far, but it is early going, and the MDH is certainly interested in talking to providers all across the state to assess the experience in the first couple of weeks. MDH is aware of the questions about what are the numbers and where are they going. “We believe as the subsequent weeks come through, some of those early questions about the numbers tend to even out over a period of weeks, but certainly we are aware of questions and working to dig into those and see if any changes are needed or not.” There’s no place the vaccine is being sent where it isn’t needed. 
• The MDH plans to put out the number of vaccinated health care workers each week 
• Governor says while the recent numbers are good, hospital capacity is still running above 95% in some areas of the state. The current restrictions will likely still be in place through the holidays without any major announcements made on whether they will be eased. 
• Governor Walz’s message to people who have gone to bars that have defied the executive order is that they should get tested
• Minnesota’s public health lab is monitoring for new COVID-19 strains. 
• by the end of the month, Minnesota should receive around 250,000 doses of vaccine between Pfizer and Moderna by the end of the year 

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