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COVID-19
Catharine Richert

'New lease on life': Vaccine expansion brings hope to Minn. patients with serious conditions

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For thousands of Minnesotans with serious health complications, hope is on the horizon.

Ben Sobieck, 36, Elk River
Ben Sobieck
Courtesy of Ben Sobieck

Ben Sobieck of Elk River is among them.

Gov. Tim Walz announced Tuesday that a small group of people with specific health conditions that put them at high risk of developing a serious case of COVID-19 will qualify for COVID-19 vaccines, starting Wednesday.

Those conditions include sickle cell disease, COPD or congestive heart failure, and Down syndrome, but also people who are getting cancer treatment and people who have had an organ transplant.

Sobieck, 36, had a kidney transplant in 2010 and takes immunosuppressants daily for this condition.

"For the past year, I have been locked down as tightly as I possibly could, cutting off access to any human contact that I could avoid,” he said.

Sobieck said that level of caution rippled through this household. His son, who started kindergarten this year, had to do distance learning.

No one in Sobieck’s household has seen extended family. Food and household items were delivered. He’s let his hair grow long — he put haircuts on pause.

Sobieck said that even people coming to the front door has been scary. The ever-present stress of the virus, where any accidental interaction could make him really sick, has been incredibly difficult to carry.

The vaccine, he said, will relieve some of that pressure.

“Getting a vaccine is not quite to the level of getting a new kidney, but it's up there in terms of getting a new lease on life, a new outlook on things,” he said.

Sobieck already has scheduled his first shot for later this week.

And when he's done with his course of doses, he said he can't wait for his to kids see their relatives.

“That will be priority No. 1, just visiting other people who have been vaccinated - grandparents, and things,” he said.

And a close second, Sobieck said? Getting a haircut.

COVID-19 in Minnesota

Data in these graphs are based on the Minnesota Department of Health's cumulative totals released at 11 a.m. daily. You can find more detailed statistics on COVID-19 at the Health Department website.

The coronavirus is transmitted through respiratory droplets, coughs and sneezes, similar to the way the flu can spread.