Nearly 600K Minnesotans have received at least 1st COVID-19 vaccine dose

(FOX 9) - At least 599,218 people in Minnesota have now received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 177,329 people are fully vaccinated, roughly 13.9% and 4.1% of the state’s adult population respectively, according to the latest state Department of Health data. 

More than 251,378 Minnesota seniors have received at least their first dose of the vaccine, or 29.3% of the state’s age 65 and older population. MDH’s data is accurate as of Feb. 9, as reporting lags by a few days. 

Meanwhile, state health officials reported 907 new cases of COVID-19 and 24 additional deaths attributed to the disease on Thursday. 

Minnesota has now seen 470,803 COVID-19 cases and 6,343 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest MDH data. 

The 907 newly reported cases were out of 43,203 tests—a 2.1% positivity rate. The state’s 7-day rolling average positivity rate is now 3.9%, the lowest it has been since June 27, Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said. 

The state’s rolling average test positivity rate has been below the 5% threshold since mid-January after reaching 15% during the surge in COVID-19 cases in November. 

MDH data shows there are 7,611 active cases of COVID-19 across the state. 

Fifteen of the 24 deaths reported on Thursday were in the Twin Cities metro. Thirteen of the people who died lived in long-term care or assisted living facilities. To date, over two-thirds of Minnesota’s COVID-19 deaths have been in those types of facilities. 

A Ramsey County resident in their late 30s was among the newly reported deaths. The other 23 deaths were all people 70 or older. 

There are currently 320 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Minnesota, down from 369 at this time last week. Seventy-eight of the 320 COVID-19 patients are in the ICU.