Minnesota expects to receive 183,400 initial COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2020, Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday.
Both Pfizer and Moderna developed two-dose vaccines. Both regimens include the initial treatment to be followed one month later by a second treatment. It is anticipated that the vaccines delivered to Minnesota in December will be enough to inoculate 91,700 people.
“No vaccine has officially been approved yet, but the two manufacturers have submitted their data from clinical trials to the FDA for approval,” Walz said.
Walz said vaccine distribution will be prioritized for vulnerable residents.
The first shipment will cover a small amount of Minnesota’s priority population of roughly 500,000 health care workers, emergency personnel, and long-term care residents.
“If we can get this vaccine to the people who who are most vulnerable … and the people who take care of the people who need care, that will be the biggest bang for the buck,” Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said.
Minnesota Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann said it’ll take about six weeks from the date of the first dose of vaccine to fully experience protection from COVID-19.
The state will be partnering with the federal government and local communities to distribute the vaccine.
Vaccines will be shipped to Minnesota’s 25 hubs and 118 spokes across the state.
But Walz told Minnesotans to continue taking precautions.
“Just because the vaccine is coming right now, it is not a panacea to get us through this,” Walz said. “The most effective thing we can do is masks, social distancing, mitigation, testing, and quarantining and isolation.”
There appears to be bipartisan support for the vaccine.
“This is someplace where we have found common ground to move forward,“ said Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-Nisswa, who already contracted COVID-19. “The vaccine is really important. We want to encourage people to take it,”
Vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer have been effective in more than 94% of cases, based on the most recent trials.
