(FOX 9) - Over 43% of Minnesota seniors have now received at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, state health officials reported Thursday.
As of Feb. 23, a total of 783,214 people in Minnesota have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 386,256 are fully inoculated—roughly 14% and 7% of the state’s population, according to the latest Minnesota Department of Health data. Reporting lags by a few days.
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Minnesota releases updated COVID-19 vaccine timeline
Minnesota leaders released a new timeline for the upcoming phases of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Gov. Tim Walz and state health officials said they expect 70% of seniors to be vaccinated by the end of March and all Minnesotans to be able to get the vaccine by the end of the summer.
WHEN WILL I GET MY COVID-19 VACCINE? Updated Minnesota timeline
Minnesotans are encouraged to sign up on the state’s Vaccine Connector website to be notified when they are eligible for a vaccine.
996 new COVID-19 cases, 7 deaths reported Thursday
MDH reported 996 new COVID-19 cases and seven additional deaths on Thursday.
The state has now seen 481,831 COVID-19 cases and 6,450 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
There are currently 6,883 active cases of COVID-19 in Minnesota. Over 97% of the state’s cases have recovered to the point where the infected person no longer needs to be isolated from others.
The 996 COVID-19 cases reported on Thursday were out of 42,749 tests—a 2.3% positivity rate.
The seven newly reported deaths were people ranging from 45 to 94. Four were residents of long-term care or assisted living facilities. To date, nearly 63% of the state’s deaths have been in long-term care facilities.
Three of the deaths reported on Thursday were in the Twin Cities metro.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 decreased on Thursday, from 292 to 265. Fifty of those patients are in the ICU.