On Wednesday, March 3, Governor Walz announced that the first Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine doses have arrived in Minnesota. Minnesota will receive 45,200 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week, and immunizations will begin shortly after doses arrive to Minnesota providers.

 

“This is an exciting development. We now have three vaccines available that are safe and highly effective in preventing severe disease, hospitalization, and death,” said Governor Walz. “The Johnson & Johnson vaccine will help our state quickly provide immunity and get us one step closer to ending this pandemic. We know we need broad community protection before we can get back to the normal, enjoyable parts of life we have missed, and the way we get there is by getting as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible. Everyone who has the opportunity to get this shot should take it.”

 

Minnesota is already a national leader in getting shots into arms. As of March 3, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) ranks Minnesota third among states for the percentage of doses received that have been administered.

 

Minnesota providers have administered more than 1.4 million doses to almost 930,000 Minnesotans. More than 54% of Minnesotans 65 and older and 56% of K-12 educators and child care workers have gotten at least their first dose.

 

Also on March 3, a study from Save the Children found that over the last four months of 2020, Minnesota consistently ranked first in the nation for children amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Using four months of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, the Save the Children’s COVID Child Protection Ranking identifies where children have been most and least protected during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that Minnesota has continually ranked first in protecting children from hunger, learning loss, and financial stress.

 

For more information about Minnesota's COVID-19 response, visit mn.gov/covid19.