Over 700K Minnesotans have 1st COVID-19 vaccine dose, state nears 1M doses administered

(FOX 9) - Over 700,000 Minnesotans have now received at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and the state is getting closer to having administered more than 1 million doses.

As of Feb. 16, 710,305 people in Minnesota have received at least one dose of the two-dose vaccine series and 264,122 are fully vaccinated—roughly 12.8% and 4.7% of the state’s population respectively, according to the latest data from the state Department of Health. Reporting lags by several days.

Company in Rochester, Minnesota developing oral COVID-19 vaccine

Vyriad, a scientific research lab based in Rochester, Minnesota, started working on a COVID-19 vaccine early last year and lab testing shows its delivery method and properties could give people immunity to the virus.

At least 325,378 Minnesota seniors have gotten at least their first dose, or 37.9% of the state’s age 65 and older population.

MDH officials said Thursday that all people age 65 and older in Minnesota could be offered at least the first dose of the vaccine by March 31.

Minnesota launches online vaccine registry

Minnesota launches an online vaccine registry Thursday for people who have not yet gotten a vaccine—even those who are not currently eligible—to get notified of future opportunities.

Health officials are encouraging all Minnesotans who have not gotten a vaccine to sign up on COVID-19 Vaccine Connector website. The website requires people to fill out a short form with basic information such as contact information, medical history and employment information, after which it will alert them when they are eligible to receive a vaccine and connect them to resources for scheduling a vaccine appointment.

928 new COVID-19 cases, 14 more deaths

MDH reported 928 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday out of 33,915 tests—a 2.7% positivity rate.

There have now been 476,292 COVID-19 cases in Minnesota since the first infection was reported in the state last March. Over 97% of those cases have recovered to the point where the infected person no longer needs to be isolated from others.

COVID-19 patients turning to

For some COVID-19 patients, they continue to deal with a loss of smell for weeks or even months after testing positive. Dr. Bozena Wrobel, a specialist with Keck Medicine at USC, joined the Buzz to chat about how some patients are using smell training to get that sense back.

Health officials also reported 14 more deaths attributed to COVID-19, bringing the state's death toll to 6,404.

Eight of the newly reported deaths were in the Twin Cities metro and eight were in long-term care or assisted living facilities.

A Mower County resident in their 30s was among the people who died. The remainder of the deaths were people 60 years old or older.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Minnesota dipped below 300 for the first time since early fall. There are currently 287 COVID-19 patients in Minnesota hospitals, 54 of whom are in the ICU.