Minnesota-Based Target To Offer Coronavirus Vaccines In 17 States

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Minneapolis-based Target on Wednesday announced it will begin offering free coronavirus vaccines at more than 600 of its stores in 17 states across the country, not including Minnesota.

The company said vaccines will be made available to stores that have a CVS pharmacy location inside them and will be distributed in accordance with state and local guidelines.

The retail giant will rely on its pre-existing vaccine supply chains to ensure distribution, the company said in a news release. Target already offers vaccines against the flu, shingles and pneumonia.

Although neither Target nor CVS currently offer the vaccine in their Minnesota stores, residents in the Land of 10,000 Lakes can still register to receive a vaccine through a local pharmacy, a health care provider or through a large-scale community vaccination site.

A list of vaccination sites is available on the new Minnesota Vaccine Connector.

Vaccines are available at Target stores in Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.

A CVS spokesperson told Patch via email that the company is working closely with state and federal officials in effort to expand its vaccine offerings to more states.

"We will continue to expand the number of states where we are able to administer the vaccine as supply increases," the statement from CVS reads. "Once the vaccine is available to the general population, we expect to vaccinate in CVS Pharmacy locations nationwide with the ability to administer up to 20-25 million shots per month provided adequate supply is available. We will share more details on additional states as they become available."

Minnesota officials on Tuesday announced the state is expanding vaccine eligibility to over a million Minnesotans who qualify under Phase B's third and fourth tiers, which include a long list of essential workers and people with underlying health conditions.

"This one is going to take some weeks to get though. It's above 1 million people," Minnesota Gov. Tim 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."

Here's who now qualifies in Minnesota

• 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."