Minnesota Expands Vaccine Access To 2 New Phases

MINNESOTA, MN — Coronavirus vaccination clinics across Minnesota this week will open up appointment times to nearly a third of the state's residents on Wednesday.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday announced vaccination appointments will now be available to people in two additional priority groups, which include people with certain chronic illness and many more essential workers.

The first, which prioritizes people with certain chronic illnesses and workers in food processing facilities, includes some 80,000 Minnesotans. The second, larger group includes over 1 million.

"This one is going to take some weeks to get though. It’s above 1 million people," Walz said. "But, the pace and the ability to move these vaccines — basically 90 percent of them within 72 hours of when the hit Minnesota — should really increase [the vaccination rate]. To Minnesotans: It’s finally here. We are really on the cusp of this thing."

Under the new guidance, appointment times will be available to qualifying Minnesotans in two more tiers of vaccination Phase 1B.

Here's who now qualifies

• Workers in food processing facilities
• People age 50 or older who live in multigenerational housing
• People over the age of 16 with:
  • Sickle cell
  • Down Syndrome
  • Undergoing active cancer treatment
  • People who are immunocompromised after receiving a solid organ transplant
  • People who are oxygen-dependent from chronic lung or heart conditions
  • People with rare conditions or disabilities that put them at higher risk
• People between ages 45 and 64 with one of more of the following conditions:
  • Active cancer
  • Chronic kidney disease
  • COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
  • Down Syndrome
  • Heart conditions (heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies)
  • Immunocompromised (HIV, bone marrow, chronic steroids for more than 30 days,
  • immunodeficiency disease, or taking immunosuppressive medications)
  • Obesity - body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 kg/m2
  • Pregnancy
  • Sickle cell disease
  • Type 1 or 2 diabetes
• People between ages 16 and 44 with two or more of the following conditions:
  • Active cancer
  • Chronic kidney disease
  • COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
  • Down Syndrome
  • Heart conditions (heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies)
  • Immunocompromised (HIV, bone marrow, chronic steroids for more than 30 days,
  • immunodeficiency disease, or taking immunosuppressive medications)
  • Obesity - body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 kg/m2
  • Pregnancy
  • Sickle cell disease
  • Type 1 or 2 diabetes
• Essential Workers in the following categories
  • Agriculture
  • School and child care workers
  • Airport staff
  • Correctional workers
  • First responders
  • Food production
  • Food retail
  • Food service
  • Judicial system workers
  • Manufacturing
  • Postal service workers
  • Public transit workers
  • Public health workers

"The next time I’m here to announce the next [vaccination group], it's basically the rest of Minnesota," Walz said. "But again, take it when you can get it. Mask up when you can. If you’ve been vaccinated and you’re following the guidance, enjoy picking up those grandkids. Enjoy being able to go do the things you haven’t been able to do. Keep doing it right, Minnesota, so more and more of us can enter into that group."

Health department commissioner Jan Malcolm said vaccine providers have been encouraged to prioritize appointment times for people who qualify in higher priority groups, meaning some people who are eligible for a vaccine could still be made to wait.

"The groups in the second phase should expect to wait for messages from the COVID-19 vaccination connector, their employer or their provider to find out when they’re able to start getting scheduled to get the vaccine," Malcolm said.

The commissioner said based on the state's current allotment of vaccines, officials anticipate the first group of very vulnerable people in Tier 2 will have their first doses within 10 days. Vaccinating food processing plant workers is expected to take two weeks.

Qualifying residents in Tier 3, which includes more essential workers and people with more chronic illnesses, should be vaccinated in four to six weeks, Malcolm said.

"By the time we’re through with that next larger group, essentially the next announcement would be for pretty much everyone else," she said.

According to state guidance, the next phase of vaccinations will open appointments to people over the age of 16 with only one chronic condition, as well as any person between the ages of 50 and 64.

In the final phase of tiered vaccination, shots will be dolled out to workers in the fields of energy, finance, construction, information technology and communications, legal, media, public safety, transportation and logistics, water and wastewater.

The final phase of vaccinations is open to the general public.