[ST. PAUL, MN] – On Friday, Governor Tim Walz visited a rehabilitation and skilled nursing facility in New Hope to discuss the successful vaccination effort in long-term care settings. All residents and staff in skilled nursing facilities have all had a chance to get their first dose. Though the state continues to face a vaccine shortage, Minnesotans at the highest risk of becoming severely sick and spreading the virus to others are receiving their vaccinations.

Walz says great strides made in vaccinating long-term care residents, workers (KSTP)

By Jay Kolls

Governor Tim Walz visited Good Samaritan Society-Ambassador in New Hope on Friday to showcase an example of how COVID-19 vaccinations are helping people who work and live and long-term care facilities across the state.

Good Samaritan is COVID-free for the first time in a long time, according to Walz.

"This is what the future looks like and the hopefulness that is there," Walz said. "We have a long way to go, but what's happening here at Good Samaritan is what's happening all across the state and it shows just how well the vaccination program is working and where we are headed."

Kim Stoltzman works at Good Samaritan. She said staff members received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and are now getting ready for their second round with no side effects reported. She added that residents at the facility were also receiving their shots, which has been an emotional time for everyone at the facility.

"This is the light at the end of the tunnel and it has truly been something special for us," Stoltzman said. I want my residents and their loved ones to be able to safely hug each other without distance between them and that physical touch is just so important, and that's what this vaccine represents."

MN nursing home Covid free, loosens restrictions for first time in months (KARE 11)

By Jennifer Hoff

The Minnesota Department of Health saying residents and staff at all of the state's nearly 400 nursing homes have gotten their first vaccine dose to fight Covid-19. At least one of them is now able to loosen restrictions for the first time in months.

Governor Walz was on hand Friday for the good news coming from the Good Samaritan Society - Ambassador in New Hope. The rehabilitation and skilled nursing care center's director of nursing services says it has been Covid free for the last four weeks.

"Even with masks on you can tell how happy the residents are and how their loved ones are smiling as many of them reunite for the first time in months," said Kim Stoltzman.

The staff started allowing indoor visits last week and take a guest's temperature while have them wear PPE to meet their loved ones in a separate area, along with following social distancing.

The Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm says, across the country, Minnesota ranks in the top five for the fewest number of cases in its long-term care facilities.

"It's a testament to the hard work of the staff in these facilities and the assistance we've been trying to provide," says Malcolm.

Commissioner Malcolm says the federal government has already allocated enough second doses for people in Minnesota's nursing homes. And she says residents and staff at the state's 2,000 assisted living centers should all have their first doses by the beginning of February.

Some people have criticized the state's vaccine rollout, saying it's slow. But Walz and Malcolm say the supply from the federal government doesn't match the demand.

The feds send about 65,000 doses to Minnesota every week, but Malcom says that may change under the new Administration.

"There's a new tone in terms of the desire of the federal government to understand a little bit more about the states and local perspective when it comes to on the ground implementation," said Malcolm.

President Biden is promising to deliver 100 million shots in his first 100 days. Under that lofty goal, Malcolm says Minnesota could vaccinate 80% of its population in about 3 months - the percentage she says is necessary to help get the virus in the state under control. With the current number of doses, she says it will take nearly 5 months just to complete the group ages 65 and older.

"The folks that are most likely to get severely sick from covid are starting to be vaccinated and pulled out of that number," explained Gov. Walz.

The state is planning to hold another vaccination clinic on Tuesday at nine sites across Minnesota as part of its new pilot program with limited vaccines and appointments available.

‘I feel hope’: Nursing homes begin to reopen as COVID falls and vaccinations are almost completed (Pioneer Press)

By Dave Orrick

With vaccinations almost complete for skilled nursing facilities — and assisted living centers not far behind — the people hardest hit by the coronavirus is seeing signs that they might be turning a corner and putting behind them one of the most enduring and heart-wrenching images of the pandemic: vulnerable old people forced to live in isolation.

To be clear, such pre-scheduled visits — where they’re currently allowed — are highly regulated, with everyone screened, masked and distanced, hardly the scene of grandchildren frolicking around the communal puzzle tables.

But they’re happening.

For Kim Stoltzman, director of nursing for long-term care at Good Samaritan Society-Ambassador home in New Hope, the combination of residents and staff getting vaccinated and the facility opening for visiting last week was emotional.

“For the first time, I felt hope,” Stoltzman said Friday. Visits are held in a designated area of the facility with its own entrance. “Even with masks on, you can tell how happy the residents are, and how their loved ones are smiling as many of them reunite for the first time in months. … We are one step closer to closing this chapter on COVID-19.”

Stoltzman’s remarks came in a remarkable setting: She stood next to Gov. Tim Walz and Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm in front of a spaced-apart gaggle of media in the lobby of the nursing home. Inside the lobby of the nursing home.

Allowing masked-and-screened media inside such a facility was both a subtle yet dramatic demonstration of the changing scene in many Minnesota long-term care facilities, where outsiders, including family, have essentially been banned since March, with limited exceptions. Allowing the press in was kind of the point, Walz said.

“This is what the future looks like,” Walz said of the scene. “This activity alone is something that wouldn’t have happened just two weeks ago.”

It’s unclear how many nursing homes are currently open like the New Hope facility, but their numbers are increasing weekly, and the industry hopes to see the increases continue. But they’re opening the doors gingerly.

“I think it’s a mood of careful optimism,” said Doug Beardsley, vice president of member services for Care Providers of Minnesota, which represents about 160 skilled nursing facilities and hundreds of assisted living centers across the state. “When they’re able to allow in person visitation, they’re really happy to do that. They know how important that is, but there’s also hesitancy because every one who walks through the door could be the source of a new outbreak.”

CASES, NOT JUST VACCINE

Currently, it’s not actually the administered vaccines that are allowing facilities to reopen. It’s the prevalence of the virus.

Under current federal and state rules, there are two criteria for reopening:

The facility must be COVID-free — among staff and residents — for at least 14 days. (Good Samaritan Society-Ambassador hasn’t had a case in a month, Stoltzman said.)

The county in which the facility is located must have a test positivity rate of less than 10 percent. As of this week, all but seven Minnesota counties met that threshold.

Of course, the vaccine will greatly reduce the chances of an outbreak inside a facility, and as more members of the public get vaccinated, the prevalence of the virus could begin to be suppressed.

However, officials caution that another spike in infections among the general public, which could be more likely as more contagious variants of SARS-CoV-2 proliferate, could slam the doors closed again.

“We’re a little concerned that people will believe that once you get the vaccine, everything will be wide open,” Beardsley said. “It won’t be like that. We just don’t know enough, and the regulations that guide us won’t allow for it. We don’t want to slide backward with high numbers of death and huge numbers of staff out.”

VACCINATION ALMOST FINISHED

Because they house the most vulnerable to COVID-19 and the facilities are vulnerable to raging outbreaks, nursing homes were atop the priority list for the vaccines.

And shots have been going into arms swiftly.

Here are two rapidly approaching milestones:

By the end of January, all staff and residents at skilled nursing centers will have had the opportunity to have both doses of the two-dose vaccines.

By the end of February, that will be true to for least the first dose in every assisted living center in the state — a much larger universe of facilities.

Uptake for the vaccine among residents has been high, officials say, although it’s less so for workers. Beardsley said that statewide, about 50 percent of workers are declining the first dose.

However, a number of industry officials said they expect that number to rise as they see their peers taking it and not having adverse reactions.

Stoltzman said that a number of her facility’s staff who declined the first dose on Jan. 2 said they wanted to see how their colleagues reacted. She said no one among the staff or residence suffered any complications, and a number of those hesitant workers have signed up to receive their first dose when CVS pharmacists return later in the month to administer second doses to all who were vaccinated in the first clinic.

HARDEST HIT

Of the Minnesotans who’ve died from COVID-19 about 64 percent, or 3,836 of the state’s 6,032 deaths lived in long-term care facilities. That’s down from about 82 percent of recorded deaths early on in the pandemic, according to state data.

There are currently 448 long-term care facilities with at least one resident or worker who’s tested positive in the last 28 days. That’s down from a peak of 716 facilities with infections in early December.

Congregate living facilities, such as nursing homes, assisted living and group homes have accounted for about 37,374 coronavirus exposures, the cause of just 8 percent of the state’s 452,268 known infections.

The coronavirus has been hard on the elderly in general. Minnesotans over 65 account for 89 percent of deaths, but just 13 percent of positive coronavirus tests.

Right now, the picture in Minnesota is better than most of the nation. According to federal data as of Jan. 10, Minnesota had the 46th-lowest case rate for nursing homes and the 41st-lowest fatality rate for nursing home residents and staff.

Walz: Minnesota progressing toward 3 million vaccinated target (Star Tribune)

By Jeremy Olson

“Gov. Tim Walz said the rollout of COVID-19 vaccine has been frustrating at times, but that Minnesota has made progress in immunizing the most vulnerable of the 3 million or so people in the state who need to receive shots.

The governor on Friday visited a New Hope nursing home — where in-person indoor visits are allowed again and workers and residents have received shots — to demonstrate that Minnesota is on a return to normalcy. The state on Friday reported that all nursing home residents in Minnesota have been offered vaccinations and 80% received at least first doses.

"This is a true vision of what the end of the tunnel looks like," said Walz, standing in a lobby to the Good Samaritan Society-Ambassador facility that would have been off limits a few days ago.”

Minnesota's allocation of federally controlled COVID-19 vaccine is 871,650 doses, an increase of 244,725 from the previous weekly tally. The state on Friday also reported that 214,050 people have received first doses and 49,604 have completed the series — an increase of more than 17,000 doses administered compared with Thursday's figures.

Minnesota needs 3 million adults to get shots if estimates are correct that an 80% vaccination rate will stifle the corona­virus that causes COVID-19, Walz said.

"The folks that are most likely to get severely sick from COVID are starting to be vaccinated and pulled out of that number," Walz said, but it will take months at the current pace to vaccinate that many Minnesotans.

The governor said that pace would quicken dramatically if President Joe Biden makes good on his pledge to push for 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office.

The Good Samaritan facility permitted in-person indoor visits after a COVID-free stretch that lasted four weeks. Second doses of vaccine are coming next week for residents and staff, adding a further sense of relief, said Kim Stoltzman, the facility's nursing director.

"For the first time, I actually felt hope," she said.

Walz said he was dismayed by a recent national survey showing that 60% of people don't know when or how they will be vaccinated and pledged to provide more basic timeline information to Minnesotans — even those whose opportunities might be months away.

"We need to give Minnesotans some of that [hopeful] feeling just by knowing that they are in the queue and they are scheduled when the vaccine gets there," he said.

Minnesota has been criticized for a slower rate of vaccines administered per capita in its fight against a pandemic that has now caused the deaths of 6,032 Minnesotans and 452,268 diagnosed infections in the state.

That includes 21 COVID-19 deaths and 1,525 infections reported on Friday.

The state dropped to 37th in the latest per capita measure of total doses administered, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but ranks 16th in the number of second doses administered.

Clinical trials show around 95% effectiveness when the shots were administered on schedule — with second doses coming four weeks after the first doses of Moderna vaccine and three weeks after the first doses of Pfizer vaccine.

State Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said one reason is that providers in Minnesota have been deliberate about securing vaccine before arranging appointments — avoiding problems in other states where clinicians canceled appointments because they didn't have the vaccine they expected.

However, Walz on Friday acknowledged that Minnesota's initial approach was cautious, leaving a lot of doses committed to appointments that were days away.

That realization is partly what prompted the state to divert 12,000 of this week's shipment of 60,000 doses to nine test clinics for COVID-19 vaccinations of people 65 and older as well as teachers and child-care providers.

Walz said online registration for these shots proved challenging Tuesday as seniors crashed a state website.

He said even his nephews and nieces tried and failed on the site to get appointments in Marshall for his in-laws.

The governor said he was pleased that the sites ultimately vaccinated many seniors and limited waste. When some people didn't show up for appointments, a backup list was used to connect people with available doses.

Walz said he wants the state to move toward an orderly advance registry of people who can be contacted by the state when a dose is available for them.

"[Then] it's not 'Hunger Games' to get 10 spots," he said.

The expansion disappointed some people because it made limited shots available to people 65 and older — even though the state hasn't finished vaccinating the priority group of health care workers and long-term care residents.

Following vaccinations of workers in hospital ERs and COVID-19 treatment units, providers have struggled to arrange appointments with thousands of unaffiliated clinicians, dentists, therapists and others.

The Minnesota Department of Health on Friday offered a new online form to link those workers with vaccination opportunities.

Some Minnesotans 75 and older were disappointed by the expansion, because they were supposed to be the second priority group and suddenly had to compete with younger adults for vaccine.

COVID-19 severity escalates with age — having caused the deaths of 659 Minnesotans in their 60s, but 1,297 in their 70s and 2,130 in their 80s.

Malcolm said the broader age category was needed to ensure adequate sign-up for the mass vaccination events and to make sure no vaccine was wasted.

However, she said providers can offer shots to patients while still vaccinating workers and are supposed to focus on patients 75 and older.

HealthPartners offered vaccine to a random set of patients 75 and older this week, but it quickly filled appointments and isn't scheduling more. The health system estimates a 90% reduction in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths once 70% of patients 65 and older are vaccinated.

Walz, health officials debate how to handle 11,000 seniors waitlisted for COVID vaccine (KMSP)

By Theo Keith

Gov. Tim Walz's administration is debating how to handle the 11,000 seniors who were waitlisted for a coronavirus vaccine during this week's sign-up period.

At issue: whether the waitlist should be used to fill next week's 6,000 available slots for people 65 and older, or if everyone needs to sign up again when the portal opens at noon Tuesday. As of now, no changes have been made, meaning people on the waitlist must sign up a second time.

Walz said he is tasking his administration with creating a long-term registry so people can get in a queue instead of having to go online or dial in each week, a process the governor compared with the Hunger Games movie.

"We think it might make more sense to create this central registry, get folks in and in queue, not promising them they’re going to get a vaccine we don’t have, but once we get it, start sending out notices and get them in," Walz told reporters Friday afternoon.

Walz said he is tasking his administration with creating a long-term registry so people can get in a queue instead of having to go online or dial in each week, a process the governor compared with the Hunger Games movie.

"We think it might make more sense to create this central registry, get folks in and in queue, not promising them they’re going to get a vaccine we don’t have, but once we get it, start sending out notices and get them in," Walz told reporters Friday afternoon.

Tuesday, the portal quickly got overloaded and led to a website crash and scores of dropped calls. But by Thursday, anxious seniors were lining up at four vaccine sites and there were no reported issues. Five more vaccine sites opened Friday.

Minnesota ranks 45th in U.S.

This week marked a major shift in Minnesota's vaccination efforts, which to date have focused rigidly on health care workers and long-term care residents. Minnesota health officials had a goal to offer a shot to every health care worker by the end of January, but acknowledge they will not meet that goal.

As of Thursday, Minnesota was 45th in the U.S. in the percentage of allocated doses used, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data .

Minnesota and its partners have given at least one shot to 214,050 people as of Tuesday, and both doses to 49,604 of those people. The reporting lags by three days.

Many states started vaccinating older residents before Minnesota changed course this week. But state officials said Minnesota hasn't had to cancel any appointments for a lack of vaccine, as some others -- including New York -- have.

Biden goal: One million shots a day

Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said Minnesota could get close to vaccinating 3 million people by the end of February if President Joe Biden meets his '100 million shots in 100 days' pledge.

Minnesota has roughly 3.7 million people over the age of 16, and 3 million represents the 80 percent that health officials expect is needed to achieve herd immunity. Vaccines are not approved for people 16 years of age or younger.

Minnesota is scheduled to get 68,000 vaccines for first doses from the federal government next week, in line with the average in recent weeks. At the current pace, it will take more than 4 months to vaccinate the currently eligible group of seniors, educators and child care workers.

"If we get more vaccines in the pipeline, more production out of the ones we have, that’s how we could meet or eventually exceed that pace the president is talking about," Malcolm said.

Long-term care sites vaccinated by February

On Friday, Walz and Malcolm met with staff at Good Samaritan Society-Ambassador in New Hope, a senior care facility where staff and residents are set to get their second doses next week.

Malcolm said all assisted living facilities are on track to get their first and second doses within the next month. The state is doing some vaccinations, while pharmacies are doing the majority through a federal partnership.

Long-term care facilities were hammered by the virus throughout 2020, with a majority of the state's deaths occurring among residents.

Kim Stoltzman, the New Hope facility's director of nursing, said a high percentage of staff took the vaccine offered to them. Many of those who were hesitant are now signed up to get their first shot next week, she said.

"We’ve all done fine. None of our staff had really side effects to the first dose," Stoltzman said. "COVID spreads so quickly that if you get one case in here, it's really unnerving to know are we going to have another one and another one, once there’s one case in the building. So the fact we’re COVID-free is a huge milestone right there."

Governor Walz visits New Hope skilled nursing facility to talk vaccines (CCX Media)

By Pafoua Yang

On Friday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz placed focus on vaccinating people in nursing homes, while also calling to mind progress in containing the virus at long-term care facilities. Walz visited Good Samaritan Society-Ambassador, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility, in New Hope, where residents are expected to receive their second and final dose of COVID-19 vaccine next weekend.

In the initial phase of vaccinations, or Phase 1a , about 80% of residents in skilled-nursing facilities have been vaccinated. That’s according to surveys of skilled-nursing facilities released Friday by the governor’s office.

Walz noted progress in protecting residents of long-term care, as cases have fallen. Back in early November, of the long-term care facilities that recorded a case of COVID-19, 84% reported a case the previous week. That number has since fallen to 36%.

“This is what the future looks like,” said Walz during the New Hope visit. “This is the hopefulness that’s there. It’s going to take a while to move forward, but I think what everybody needs to recognize is once we start to get the most vulnerable population and front line workers, that’s’ a number that we can protect against and we’ll keep expanding out.

The governor also indicated that the state is trying to improve its vaccine registration system for people 65 and older. The state began a pilot program this week for that age group by delivering about 6,000 doses of vaccine to nine community sites across the state, including one in Brooklyn Center . Currently, seniors must register every Tuesday to see if they get an appointment for the limited amount of doses currently available. The state is trying to change that so seniors don’t have to register more than once.

Gov. Walz visits New Hope care facility to highlight vaccine efforts (KBJR6)

By Heidi Stang

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz visited a long-term care facility in New Hope Friday to highlight the vaccine efforts being done to both staff and residents.

The facility's staff and residents received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Walz said that the vaccine is the best tool to move forward and puts the end of the pandemic insight.

He added that he hopes this means they can begin relaxing visitation guidelines and lessen the isolation patients have been dealing with.

Walz and the state continue to watch for changes at the federal level to begin stepping up vaccination efforts.

Currently, the state is considering a sign-up registry for those interested in the shot.

Using this, they would be able to give patients an idea of when their turn for the vaccine would be.

Gov. Walz highlights vaccine progress in long-term care (WDIO)

Friday marked day one of Minnesota's new vaccination pilot program, making educators and people aged 65+ eligible to get their COVID-19 vaccine. As more of the older population gets vaccinated, Governor Tim Walz took time to highlight the progress at long-term care facilities in the state.

Gov. Walz and Health Commissioner Jan Malcom visited Good Samaritan Society-Ambassador in New Hope. Residents and staff there are slated to get their second doses this weekend, already having their first doses last week.

"I'm happy to tell you that compared to where we were about four to six weeks ago, we have once again seen cases in long-term care coming to more manageable range," said Commissioner Malcom Friday afternoon. She said she believes all skilled nursing facilities in Minnesota have now had their first doses, and assisted living facilities have begun vaccinations as well.

"When you have a rehabilitation center like this, where folks are coming and going, it just exacerbates that," said Walz. "I think, once again, for Minnesotans to understand that we still have a ways to go in COVID. But I think to pause, to give thanks to those who fought this on truly the front lines where it was at. And then to see the changes that are coming with the vaccine, and the implications that it means to a facility like this."

The Governor did touch on the topic of allocations, specifically from the Federal Government, saying his administration is keeping an eye on what's coming down the pipe.

"We're certainly, just like you, watching what's coming out of the federal side of the vaccine response. We're seeing changes in that. We're still trying to get clarification on what that means, what it means with doses, and how going forward it will be handled," said Walz.

"We are making progress in what was, rightly so, our first priority for vaccines as the limited supply becomes available," said Malcom.