COVID-19 vaccine 2 , CD3 DFL

Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Update: May 14, 2021

Following New CDC Guidance, Governor Walz Announces End to Statewide Face Covering Requirement

On Thursday, Governor Walz announced the end of Minnesota’s statewide mask requirement, aligning Minnesota with new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance on face coverings. Minnesotans who are not fully vaccinated are strongly recommended to wear face coverings indoors.

“This great day is possible because vaccines have proven to be effective,” said Governor Walz. “Once you are fully vaccinated you are protected. You can confidently return to the people you love and things that you miss – all without a mask. The message is clear — get vaccinated and let’s put the pandemic behind us once and for all.”

CDC says fully vaccinated people don’t have to wear masks indoors

The CDC announced in new guidance Thursday that anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, regardless of crowd size.

What they’re saying: “If you are fully vaccinated, you are protected, and you can start doing the things that you stopped doing because of the pandemic,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will say at a White House press briefing.

Caveats: The guidance does not apply to those traveling on planes or public transit, health care settings, correctional facilities or homeless shelters. Continue reading.

CDC panel recommends Pfizer COVID vaccine for adolescents

Adolescents as young as 12 years old across the country can soon start receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine after a federal advisory panel endorsed the measure Wednesday.

The 14-0 vote, with one recusal from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was part of the final process before the shot becomes widely available to the younger population.

Once CDC Director Rochelle Walensky signs off on the panel’s recommendation, vaccinations will begin in most states, although some clinics in states including Pennsylvania, Maine and Georgia did not wait. Continue reading.

FDA authorizes Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday gave the green light for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to be used in adolescents 12 to 15 years old, a move that will make millions more people eligible for a vaccine.

The highly anticipated decision is a key step toward ensuring middle and high schools can operate for full in-person learning in the fall — and a major boon to parents concerned about the safety of summer activities.

The FDA has been reviewing the amended application from Pfizer and BioNTech for more than a month. The companies cited research from their clinical trial in late March that found the vaccine was effective in the younger population and produced strong antibody responses. The side effects were also about the same as the older population. Continue reading.

The real reason right-wingers hate vaccines

“Go get vaccinated, America,” the president urged the nationlast Wednesday in his State of the Union address. Joe Biden had a lot of good news to report to the US Congress on the COVID vaccination effort: 220 million shots have been administered in his first 100 days in office, everyone over 16 is eligible and 90 percent of Americans now live within five miles of a vaccination site. Vaccine manufacturing is booming. Supply will soon no longer be a limiting factor. Yet even as eligibility has expanded, demand has plateaued across the country and vaccination rates have dipped from their peak.

Time is of the essence. More transmissible variants of the virus mean a higher percentage of the population must be immunized to reach herd immunity. We’re in a race between the finest that human civilization has to offer and venal dumbassery.

In one corner is science, bolstered by billions in public investment. Eighteen months ago, there were no vaccines for human coronaviruses. Today, there are multiple safe, highly-effective COVID shots. Better yet, thanks to wise public policy and all-hands-on-deck roll-out, they’re available for free to any American adult. The president even announced tax credits to reimburse small- and mid-sized businesses that give their employees paid time off to get vaccinated and to recover from vaccine side effects. Continue reading.

Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Unlikely in the U.S., Experts Now Believe

Widely circulating coronavirus variants and persistent hesitancy about vaccines will keep the goal out of reach. The virus is here to stay, but vaccinating the most vulnerable may be enough to restore normalcy.

Early in the pandemic, when vaccines for the coronavirus were still just a glimmer on the horizon, the term “herd immunity” came to signify the endgame: the point when enough Americans would be protected from the virus so we could be rid of the pathogen and reclaim our lives.

Now, more than half of adults in the United States have been inoculated with at least one dose of a vaccine. But daily vaccination rates are slipping, and there is widespread consensus among scientists and public health experts that the herd immunity threshold is not attainable — at least not in the foreseeable future, and perhaps not ever.

Instead, they are coming to the conclusion that rather than making a long-promised exit, the virus will most likely become a manageable threat that will continue to circulate in the United States for years to come, still causing hospitalizations and deaths but in much smaller numbers. Continue reading.

Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: April 28, 2021

Dear Neighbors,

Vaccination Availability

We are making fantastic progress vaccinating our entire state with over 3 million total doses and 56% of Minnesotans 16+ having received at least one dose. If you have waited to get vaccinated there is no better time than now! At the Minnesota State Fair Grounds they are accepting walk-in appointments for everyone who is eligible. If we want to have a state fair this summer, everyone who can get vaccinated should. Walk-ins are available through Tuesday, May 4. Click here for more information. There has also been good availability at the Community Vaccination Center at the Mall of America through the State Vaccine Connector. (This is how I was vaccinated and it’s very efficiently run.)

RealID

The Federal Government has announced that the RealID deadline has been pushed by 18 months until May of 2023. This will relieve some of the pressure on our local Driver and Vehicle Services offices, which have been overwhelmed with requests to renew expired drivers licenses and vehicle registration tabs. Simple vehicle tab renewals can be handled online in just a few minutes at the DVS website, so take advantage of that option if you can’t get an in-person appointment at a local Hennepin County Service Center. The County is adding personnel to help with the backlog of in-person appointments, but it will take them a while to train the new staff.

Biden announces small business tax credits for vaccine PTO

President Biden on Wednesday called on all employers to provide workers paid time off to get vaccinated or recover from COVID side effects, and said he’ll include a paid tax credit for small businesses that do so.

Why it matters: The Biden administration sees workplaces as highly influential in making shots more convenient for working adults who are in high-risk industries.

43% of working adults are currently vaccinated, compared to more than 80% of seniors, per federal data. Continue reading.

U.S. lifts pause on Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine

The CDC and FDA on Friday lifted the recommended pause on use of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine, saying the benefits of the shot outweigh the risk of a rare blood clot disorder.

Why it matters: The move clears the way for states to resume administering the one-shot vaccine.

The Johnson & Johnson shot had been seen as an important tool to fill gaps in the U.S. vaccination effort. But between the pause in its use and repeated manufacturing problems, its role in that effort is shrinking. Continue reading.

Least Vaccinated U.S. Counties Have Something in Common: Trump Voters

About 31 percent of adults in the United States have now been fully vaccinated. Scientists have estimated that 70 to 90 percent of the total population must acquire resistance to the virus to reach herd immunity. But in hundreds of counties around the country, vaccination rates are low, with some even languishing in the teens.

The disparity in vaccination rates has so far mainly broken down along political lines. The New York Times examined survey and vaccine administration data for nearly every U.S. county and found that both willingness to receive a vaccine and actual vaccination rates to date were lower, on average, in counties where a majority of residents voted to re-elect former President Donald J. Trump in 2020. The phenomenon has left some places with a shortage of supply and others with a glut.

For months, health officials across the United States have been racing to inoculate people as variants of the coronavirus have continued to gain a foothold, carrying mutations that can make infections more contagious and, in some cases, deadlier. Vaccinations have sped up and, in many places, people are still unable to book appointments because of high demand. In Michigan, where cases have spiraled out of control, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, recently urged President Biden to send additional doses. Continue reading.

Following New CDC Guidance, Governor Walz Announces End to Statewide Face Covering Requirement

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