Speeding up the COVID-19 vaccination process in Minnesota will depend mostly on whether the federal government can ramp up its distribution of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are both two-dose vaccines that need to be administered 3-4 weeks apart.
Minnesota is currently receiving just 60,000 doses per week from the federal government, and at that current rate Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Commissioner Jan Malcolm said it could take until June to vaccinate Minnesotans 65 and older, school teachers and child care providers.
It was announced Monday that people in these categories are next in line to receive the vaccine once the approximately 500,000 healthcare workers and staff/residents of long-term care settings receive both doses.