Minnesotans have received more than one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, Governor Walz announced today. The state reported 1,016,210 doses had been administered as of today’s official report. The seven-day rolling average of doses administered is now 29,705, a pace that has accelerated since Governor Walz took action to increase the rate of vaccinations across the state.
Hi Neighbors,
Optimism is infinitely stronger than fear, and, while this has surely been one of the most challenging years in many Americans’ lifetimes, the creation of safe and effective vaccines to fight COVID-19 is reason to hope.
I’ve made it my mission to help get us through this pandemic as safe, economically sound, and prepared for the future as possible. When it comes to vaccines, it’s clear that we need more doses, more vaccination sites, and more health care workers to administer vaccines if we are going to get this virus under control. As your member of Congress, I will continue doing everything I can to ensure our Minnesota leaders have the funding and information they need to get vaccines to Minnesotans as quickly as possible. I’m hopeful we’re on the right path, and I am encouraged by the Biden Administration’s steps to ramp up production and distribution.
Governor Tim Walz, the Minnesota Department of Health, and our local leaders are responsible for determining eligibility standards and distributing vaccines to Minnesotans. They are the best point of contact for specific questions about our state’s vaccination plan. Data about vaccine eligibility and availability changes quickly, and I know that can be frustrating. We’re in this together, so the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions my team and I have been receiving are below. The information in this update was compiled on February 19, 2021 and will change as more vaccines become available.
Shortage of doses continues to frustrate providers.
Minnesota debuted an online COVID-19 Vaccine Connector on Thursday that will notify all residents when they are eligible for shots and give senior citizens immediate access to a lottery for appointments at state-operated sites.
While initial doses are reserved for 1.5 million seniors, health care workers, educators and long-term care residents, Gov. Tim Walz said the tool at least gives people confidence that they will know when it is their turn to get the vaccine. Registrants provide their birth date and contacts, but also can opt to enter demographic and employment information, which can be used later on to determine their vaccine eligibility.
“We still have a frustratingly limited vaccine supply from the federal government, but every Minnesotan should know their chance to get a vaccine will come,” Walz said. Continue reading.
The White House is throwing its support behind a global push to distribute coronavirus vaccines equitably, pledging $4 billion to a multilateral effort the Trump administration spurned.
At a Group of Seven meeting of leaders of the world’s largest economies Friday, President Biden will announce an initial $2 billion in funding for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to be used by the Covax Facility, senior administration officials said in a briefing.
The United States will release an additional $2 billion over two years once other donors have made good on their pledges and will use this week’s G-7 summit to rally other countries to do more. Continue reading.
Life expectancy in the United States fell by a full year during the first half of 2020, a staggering decline that reflects the toll of the covid-19 pandemic as well as a rise in deaths from drug overdoses, heart attacks and diseases that accompanied the outbreak, according to government data released Thursday.
The last time life expectancy at birth dropped more dramatically was during World War II. Americans can now expect to live as long as they did in 2006, according to the provisional data released by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Black and Latino Americans were hit harder than Whites, reflecting the racial disparities of the pandemic, according to the new analysis. Black Americans lost 2.7 years of life expectancy, and Latinos lost 1.9. White life expectancy fell 0.8 years. Continue reading.
All districts should have some form of it in place by March 8
All Minnesota schools should offer some form of in-person instruction by March 8, Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday, announcing a move he characterized as “critical” for students’ and families’ well-being, mental health and economic stability in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Many districts have already started bringing secondary school students back to classrooms, and Walz said other middle and high schools could reopen as soon as Feb. 22.
A majority of the state’s elementary schools are already providing face-to-face instruction, following an earlier pivot by state officials to prioritize in-person learning for the youngest students. Continue reading.
Democrats are aiming to move quickly on a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package and give President Biden a legislative accomplishment early in his tenure.
A multitude of House committees advanced portions of the bill last week, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told colleagues on Tuesday that the plan is for the bill to be considered on the House floor next week.
The bigger challenge lies ahead when the work shifts over to the Senate. The legislation will need every Senate Democrat to vote for it to pass if no Republicans back it. Continue reading.
The Biden administration will increase the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses going to states this week.
States will receive 13.6 million doses per week starting this week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Tuesday. The current shipment is about 11 million doses.
That marks a 57 percent increase over the amount states were getting when Biden first took office, Psaki said. Continue reading.
This is the second time President Joe Biden has extended the relief since he took office.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is extending the foreclosure moratorium and mortgage forbearance through the end of June as part of his efforts to address the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the White House announced Tuesday.
The administration’s actions continue programs that former President Donald Trump started last year. This is the second time Biden has extended the programs after having signed an executive action on his first day in office that pushed the expiration date to the end of March.
The White House also announced Tuesday that the administration is extending the enrollment window to request a mortgage payment forbearance and will grant six months of additional forbearance for those who enroll on or before June 30. Continue reading.
Aware of this emerging voter demo, the White House is hoping its agenda and relief bill will inoculate it against frustrations.
Distraught and exhausted parents are emerging as a new class of voters that could torment President Joe Biden — and the White House is moving quickly to head off the pain.
Nearing a year into the pandemic, Biden’s advisers and allies recognize that they need to respond to the spiraling angst felt by families or risk driving them into the arms of waiting Republicans.
It is a crucial test for Biden and Democrats as they try to consolidate their gains from the 2020 election. The pandemic has disrupted lives and exacerbated inequities and a raft of public and private surveys show clear political potholes and opportunities because of it. The coronavirus is spawning sweeping policy prescriptions from Democrats and Republicans alike, from billions in school reopening funds to the creation of a federal child allowance. And it’s prompting pollsters to loosely coin emerging voter demos like “women in chaos” and “families in crisis.” Continue reading.
