MDH Commissioner Evaluating Future Of Vaccine Pilot Sites And 'Lottery'; Clinics, Pharmacies May Take Weight
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Tens of thousands Minnesota seniors on a waitlist for COVID-19 vaccines won't all be inoculated at one of the nine pilot sites across the state, a top health official said. The vision is for the majority of people to get vaccinated at community pharmacies and clinics.
"We're just going to evaluate the role that these kind of state sites play—how many of them should there be," said Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm during a visit to one of the sites in Brooklyn Center on Thursday. "The main vehicle for delivering vaccines is going to be our clinics and our community pharmacies."
The state last week announced the new vaccine pilot program designed for Minnesotans 65 and older, and teachers and childcare providers who got approved from their employer. The news drew a surge of interest all at once, leading to long wait-times and frustration.
This week state officials shifted to a system with a 24-hour window to pre-register for a lottery to avoid another free-for-all. The result was 226,000 seniors on a waitlist for just over 9,000 appointment slots.
On Thursday, Jan Malcolm did not commit to opening lottery registration again next week, saying she "could not quite speak" to whether a similar process would happen at least once more. But she said those currently on the waitlist won't need to reapply to remain in the state system for notification of future vaccine availability.
"That waiting list will be a tool that continues," she said. "We will be using that waiting list for more purposes than just the lottery, so to speak. It's going to be a way for us to know who wants vaccine, where are they."
She said it could serve as a line of "two-way communication" to help people understand where the supply is relative to where they live. The vision is that "most" people will be vaccinated at community pharmacies and clinics.
"As we get more doses, more and more will come through the hospitals, through the clinics, through the community pharmacies," said Malcolm.
More than 320,000 Minnesotans have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the state's vaccine dashboard. That includes more than 92,000 people 65 or older.
Malcolm reiterated that the state is on pace to complete Phase 1A of heath care workers and long-term care facility residents by the end of this month in just a few short days, freeing up more vaccine for the 65+ population and others. Gov. Tim Walz has also ordered providers to use 90% of doses within 72-hours to speed up the process.
He welcomes the news from the Biden administration this week that the state will get an additional 11,000 doses in its weekly allocation for at least the next three weeks. Previously the state has been receiving about 60,000 per week but often with just little notice, Walz said -- emphasizing the move will bring much-needed certainty.
"It's everything," Walz said of the three-week heads up. "You can't set the appointment until you knew what you were going to get."
Walz said this week marked the first time there was a phone call with all 50 governors about vaccines and was "encouraged" by the decisions from the federal government to purchase 200 million more doses.
"The logistical piece of all of this is, I hope, getting a little bit easier for Minnesotans," Walz added.
Excelsior resident Luann Wudlick, 73, said receiving her shot of the Pfizer vaccine at the Brooklyn Center site Thursday was quick and seamless. She was shocked to be among the people chosen in the lottery.
"I couldn't believe it. I thought it would be September before I would get my shots," she said, eagerly awaiting her second shot scheduled in a few weeks.
Likewise, 70-year-old Mark Nelson said the process after he was selected for an appointment was smooth.
"It was effortless," he said, commending the governor for his efforts on rolling out vaccines in the state.
Walz told reporters he heard similar anecdotes from people he met while visiting the site, but not everyone has been satisfied with the now month-long effort to vaccinate Minnesotans.
"Some are fine," he said. "Some are madder than heck that it's taken them as long as it has."
