Advances in COVID-19 vaccine, cases and deaths in MN, Wisconsin

St. Paul, Minnesota — Thursday, March 25

• MDH reports 1,857 new COVID cases, the highest 16 new deaths since January 10
• Staff: 89 fully vaccinated Minnesotas were tested positive for COVID-19
• 503 cases of B.1.1.7.A variant identified in Minnesota, but health officials believe the variant may be responsible for half of the state’s cases.
  
• Over 26% of Minnesota’s population has been vaccinated
• 4.5% of Minnesota long-term care facilities have cases of COVID-19 in the last 14 days

Minnesota long-term care facility residents have been vaccinated at a high rate, but staff are still behind.

Minnesota health officials and long-term care industry leaders held a briefing call on Thursday to keep the public up to date on the COVID-19 epidemic and vaccination progress.

Minnesota Health Department (MDH) Commissioner Jan Malcolm began calling by talking about more than 1,800 new cases reported Thursday. This is the highest number per day since early January.

“We have another surge in incidents and the potential for negative consequences,” she said. “That’s why we continue to emphasize the importance of staying vigilant.”

Malcolm said the incident reminded him “how seriously we should take this pandemic in the future.”

MDH Infectious Diseases Director Kris Ehresmann said the federal government recently announced that people could not claim the vaccine.

“I’ve been saying for months that the COVID-19 vaccine doesn’t cost the people who get it, and that’s still the case,” she said.

Healthcare providers may seek reimbursement from insurance companies that cover vaccines, or Medicare or Medicaid, Elesman said. Therefore, you may be required to provide insurance information.

“But you shouldn’t get an invoice after that,” Eresman said. “The provider cannot ask for additional reimbursement.”

She said Minnesotas who were aware of the violations were encouraged to report them to the Inspector General’s Office at 1-800-HHS-TIPS.

Malcolm also talked about vaccination progress at nursing care facilities in Minnesota on Thursday, announcing “another bright milestone.”

By the end of this week, Malcolm said “almost all” residents and staff at approximately 2,000 facilities across Minnesota had the opportunity to be vaccinated for both.

“We’ve reached 99% of these facilities, but it will take some time to get the last 1%,” she said, citing the logistics hurdles of some facilities.

Not all long-term care residents and staff accept the vaccine, Malcolm said, with significantly fewer staff than residents. She said that only 54% of skilled nursing facility staff and 45% of life support facility staff had the opportunity to be vaccinated.

“These numbers are clearly not as high as we want, and frankly, not as high as we need,” Malcolm said.

She said she didn’t want to be the first, although MDH heard from some staff that she was likely to be vaccinated. She said that some people would like to get more information and “build their own knowledge base and confidence in getting the vaccine.”

“We understand that,” Malcolm said. “No one needs to feel guilty or embarrassed to ask about vaccines …. Our job, weeks or months ahead, is that, especially when vaccines are more available. Is to confirm. Our citizens have that information. “

Lindsey Krueger, director of MDH’s Healthcare Facility Complaints Department, provided more detailed data on vaccination in long-term care. She said all nursing homes in Minnesota had the opportunity to set up three vaccination clinics for staff and residents. 99% of assisted living-type facilities have two clinics, 54% of which have one-third.

Only 62 nursing homes, 17% of the state, have been infected with COVID in the last 14 days. Thirty-one assisted living facilities, or 2% of Minnesota’s entire state, have filed proceedings in the last 14 days. Overall, according to Kluger, this means that 4.5% of Minnesota care facilities have had COVID cases in the last 14 days.

Several care leaders from all over the state also spoke on the phone.

Gayle Kvenvold, president and CEO of Leading Age Minnesota, said her resident and staff were one of the first Minnesotas to be vaccinated.

“We are not only encouraging vaccination, but also sharing the facts of vaccination, listening carefully to concerns, and providing one-on-one support and peace of mind to help build confidence in vaccines. I think it’s our role and responsibility, “she says. Said.

According to Kvenvold, Leading Age Minnesota has launched a peer-to-peer network where vaccinated staff can answer questions and encourage colleagues who are hesitant.

“We believe we will continue to see more vaccinations in every respectful conversation we have,” Kvenvold said.

Patty Karen, president and chief executive officer of a Minnesota care provider, said her resident accepts a high percentage of vaccines.

“A large number of people in our community are vaccinated against the virus,” she said, as Minnesota care providers invite more visitors “and with great joy” with less restrictions. Made possible.

According to Karen, the effectiveness of the virus is evident in both cases of falling, with few deaths at the facility.

“We greatly celebrated the day we saw zero again in our setting,” she said.

Karen said staff are also beginning to feel confident about the vaccine.

“We need to work with our staff to increase the safety of everyone in the facility by vaccination, and we are working on that,” she said. “We know that long-term care staff continue to be motivated.”

Fully vaccinated asymptomatic health care workers exposed to COVID-19 no longer need to be quarantined for 14 days, providing another incentive for staff to vaccinate, according to Karen. I will.

Matt McNeill, director of Senior Living at StuartCo, said more than 75% of staff are vaccinated and 100% of the population is vaccinated.

In late February, he said there was a groundbreaking incident. As of this afternoon, they have returned to zero positive cases.

“I hope we can get together, talk more, meet more team members one-on-one, and understand the vaccine hesitation,” he said. “They devoted a lot to others last year. Now it’s our job to support them.”

McNeil compared the current COVID-19 climate with the final marathon journey.

“We have to stay strong,” he said.

Elesmann said Minnesota’s vaccine allocations would soon increase to 304,000 times a week, but that hasn’t happened yet.

“This is definitely an increase in what we are receiving, and we are eagerly waiting to reach that point,” Ehresmann said.

She said the number of doses assigned to Minnesota this week, which will be shipped next week, has not yet shown that increase.

Malcolm said providers could set their own priority levels within the state’s decision to expand its eligibility.

“There are important differences for people to understand; your eligibility and the position of your line,” she said.

Malcolm said the president had already stated that all adults needed to qualify by May 1, and Governor Tim Walz said he wanted to stay ahead of that goal.

“The good news is that there are enough vaccines for everyone who wants to get it, and it will be much faster than we thought,” Malcolm said. Still, she said the state would continue to prioritize high-risk residents.

Malcolm said the overall MDH would be more flexible for vaccinated people to “not slow down” and to meet the specific needs of the community.

As of Thursday, 503 B.1.1.7 variants have been identified in Minnesota, according to Eresman.

“It doesn’t represent the sum of the circulation,” she said. “In fact, we believe that more than half of the cases in the state could be due to B.1.1.7 at this time.”

B.1.1.7 test. Is limited and only random samples are tested weekly.

The Minnesota Department of Health reported 1,857 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. This is the highest total day since January 10, when the state reported 2,165 cases.

Viral deaths also surged from nine deaths reported Wednesday to 16 double-digit deaths on Thursday. This is the highest number of deaths since March 11, when the state reported 19 new deaths.

To date, 510,398 Minnesota have been tested positive for the coronavirus since the outbreak of the pandemic. Of these cases, 26,936 needed to be hospitalized and 5,536 needed ICU care.

The number of COVID cases involving young adults aged 20 to 24 exceeded a severe milestone of over 50,000 cases on Wednesday. Then, as of Thursday, the state reported a total of 50,246 cases in that age group.

People aged 25-29 follow with 45,415 cases and 6 deaths. People between the ages of 85 and 89 account for the highest number of deaths in a single age group, with 1,288 of the 6,450 diagnosed cases dying.

Hennepin County has the highest COVID activity in the state, with 105,974 and 1,640 deaths, Ramsey County with 44,649 and 835 deaths, Anoka County with 34,868 and 405 deaths, and Dakota County with 38,523 and 408 deaths. Is dead.

As of Tuesday, the latest data reported by MDH, nearly 1.5 million Minnesota people had received at least one COVID-19 vaccination.according to State Vaccine Dashboard, 1,475,130 people took at least one shot. This is 26.5% of the population. Of them, 878,469 have the entire vaccine series.

According to the Ministry of Health, 89 fully vaccinated Minnesotas tested positive for COVID-19.But the authorities are these so-called “Innovative case” You shouldn’t surprise people. Nearly 880,000 Minnesota people are vaccinated with the COVID vaccine, and only a few percent of fully vaccinated people are infected with the virus.

“Like other vaccination programs, no vaccine protects the entire population 100%,” said Dr. Hannah Lichtsinn, a physician at Hennepin Healthcare.

Both hospitalizations associated with COVID-19 and new cases of the virus are on the rise, according to data released Wednesday by the Minnesota Department of Health.

As of Tuesday, 332 were hospitalized with COVID, 93 of whom had severe symptoms requiring treatment in the ICU. This is the highest number since January 28, when 95 patients were treated in the ICU.

Since the pandemic arrived in Minnesota, the total number of hospitalizations has increased to 26,859.

According to MDH, 1,323 new cases have been reported in the past day, up from 870 the day before. State health officials said they were worried about recurrence in both cases and hospitalizations and talked about the spread of the B.1.1.7 variant on Tuesday.

An additional nine died of COVID, bringing the death toll in the state to 6,798.

Minnesota is in the midst of having at least 1.5 million people who are partially vaccinated. As of Tuesday (latest data available), 1,454,834 people had been vaccinated at least once, accounting for 26.2% of Minnesota’s 5.6 million inhabitants. The number of people vaccinated will increase significantly as the week progresses, and the state could reach 1.5 million in the next few days.

According to MDH, 862,955 people have completed the two-shot series and are considered fully vaccinated.

The number of COVID cases involving young adults aged 20 to 24 has exceeded suspicious milestones. Health officials report 50,061 infections and four deaths in the demographics. The largest group of deaths is 85 to 89, with only 6,448 diagnosed cases and 1,285 deaths.

The four most populous counties in Minnesota report the most COVID activity. Hennepin County recorded 105,561 cases and 1,638 deaths, Ramsey County recorded 44,526 cases and 835 deaths, Dakota County recorded 38,352 cases and 406 deaths, and Anoka County recorded 34,745 deaths. Recorded 405 deaths.

Cook County, the state’s sixth-population county, has reported 135 cases and zero deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic.