Throughout the pandemic, MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer has been talking with health care workers whose day-to-day lives have been turned upside down. This week, she spoke with Eric Swanlund, president of the Minnesota Association of Nurse Anesthetists and a CRNA at the Minneapolis VA.
More than 226,000 people signed up online and by phone; about 8,000 doses are available. People 65 and older whose names are drawn will be able to make an appointment for their first dose of the two-dose COVID-19 vaccine at one of nine vaccination sites across the state.
Fulfilling a campaign promise, President Joe Biden plans to reopen the HealthCare.gov insurance markets for a special sign-up opportunity geared to people needing coverage in the coronavirus pandemic.
The newest numbers continue to show the state’s COVID-19 picture brightening as the state approaches February. Minnesota’s also seeing its first sustained and significant rise in the pace of vaccinations.
Early in the pandemic, shortages of N95 respirators and other medical gear prompted panic across the world. A year later, the masks still aren't widely available to U.S. consumers.
A pharmacist in Grafton, Wis., is accused of tampering with supplies of the Moderna vaccine in December. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of two charges.
State officials say Minnesota’s medical institutions have taken a liberal view of who should be in the early rounds of vaccination. And it’s come at the cost of making sure shots get to the people who need them most.
President Joe Biden announced the surge in deliveries to states Tuesday, along with the news that the federal government is purchasing an additional 100 million doses each of the two approved vaccines. With existing purchases, the White House expects to be able to deliver enough of the two-dose regimens to states to vaccinate 300 million people.
The governor’s recommendations kick off a budget debate that will last well into spring. His call for tax increases on high-end earners and corporations will encounter pushback from Republican legislators.