ST. PAUL, MN (MNN) – Governor Tim Walz is announcing Friday morning that all Minnesotans age 16 and older will be eligible for the COVID vaccine beginning next Tuesday, March 30th.
The governor’s spokesman says it comes as the federal government has promised an increased supply of vaccine by April.
State Health Department’s Kris Ehresmann says, “When we look at it in terms of first doses, and what that would that would mean for us in terms of new people that could get vaccinated each week, it ends up being about 304 thousand doses coming in, both through our federal retail pharmacy streams as well as the allocation that comes to Minnesota.”
The governor’s spokesman says the Walz-Flanagan administration will direct providers to prioritize vaccine appointments for older Minnesotans, those with underlying health conditions, and front-line workers.
Minnesota is number one in the nation in vaccine distribution, according to the C-D-C, with North Dakota number two and Iowa and Wisconsin also near the top.
Governor Walz will deliver his State of the State address this Sunday night at 6 p-m from his former social studies classroom at Mankato West High School.
The speech is pushed back one week because the governor had to go into quarantine after a staff member tested positive for COVID.
(from Minnesota News Network)
