The Walz-Flanagan Administration on Tuesday launched a public vaccine data dashboard to detail the progress of COVID-19 vaccine allocation, distribution and administration across Minnesota.
The dashboard, produced by Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), provides a visual and user-friendly way to view key vaccination data for our state. The dashboard includes information on the number of doses promised (allocated) to the state by the federal government; shipped to Minnesota providers; and administered to Minnesotans. The dashboard will be updated daily.
As of today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has promised 541,100 doses of COVID-19 to Minnesota. Of those doses, 329,450 have been shipped to providers in Minnesota along with 100,500 doses shipped to pharmacies participating in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Pharmacy Partnership Program for vaccination in long-term care settings.
There is currently a limited amount of vaccine available to states from the federal government. Once doses are promised to states, it takes several days before those doses are actually shipped, so it can be a week or more before they actually arrive at their final destination and can be given to people. Vaccine is moving throughout the state, but the process takes time. The dashboard will help Minnesotans see where we are at by showing progress at different stages of the process.
More than 140,000 Minnesotans have received at least one dose of vaccine. Over 7,000 people have completed their vaccination series. For currently available vaccines, a complete series is two doses of the same vaccine product separated by three or four weeks depending on the vaccine. These numbers are reflected in the dashboard.
“We are committed to ensuring Minnesotans know how much vaccine is coming to our state and how many of our neighbors are receiving their shots when it’s their turn,” Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm said. “Transparency is a cornerstone principle of our vaccine rollout. We are pleased to provide Minnesotans with this vital information as the light at the end of the tunnel grows brighter.”
“This dashboard provides Minnesotans with transparency and promotes confidence that COVID-19 vaccine doses are consistently arriving in Minnesota, and shots are going in the arms of our health care workers and most vulnerable family and friends,” MNIT Commissioner Tarek Tomes said. “It will help Minnesotans visualize our progress toward ending this pandemic for good.”
The state’s role in vaccine distribution is oversight and facilitation. The state helps the federal government know where in Minnesota to send vaccine and helps make sure vaccine providers in Minnesota – mostly private health care providers and pharmacies at this stage – administer it safely.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Pharmacy Partnership Program is a partnership between the federal government, state government, and private-sector pharmacies to provide vaccinations in long-term care facilities. Vaccine doses for this program are provided from the state vaccine allocation. Three large pharmacy chains are doing the majority of this work in the skilled nursing facilities across the state—Walgreens, CVS, and Thrifty White.
Minnesotans can find more information on the dashboard, as well as the allocation and distribution process, on the state’s COVID-19 Response website.
