Test Program to Expand COVID-19 Vaccinations to Seniors, Teachers in Minnesota

Minnesota is making COVID-19 vaccines accessible to the general public by opening nine sites where inoculations will be provided by appointment to residents 65 or older, teachers, and child care providers, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune . Gov. Tim Walz said the test expansion is critical to deploying broad public vaccinations, but he called for patience because it makes roughly 1 million more people eligible for a few thousand available shots. The state is scheduled to receive about 60,000 more first doses of the two-dose COVID-19 vaccines this week. It is shipping 12,000 to these sites, which will start giving shots on Thursday by appointment only. Seniors began registering online at noon yesterday, but Walz warned of a spike in interest and said "this is going to be harder than going to Ticketmaster and getting Bruce Springsteen tickets." Teachers will be scheduled via their school districts and child-care centers.