Gov. Walz and Health Commissioner Malcolm get another booster, urge others to do the same

Christopher Magan, Pioneer Press
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Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm each got another dose of coronavirus vaccine Wednesday in an effort to promote the extra protection booster shots provide.

Minnesotans should expect boosters to become a routine, Walz said outside St. Paul Corner Drug on St. Clair Avenue where he and Malcolm got their shots. The governor noted the importance of “trusted” local pharmacies delivering the shots.

“Will it be a yearly effort, will it be every six months?” Walz said about boosters. “Those things are yet to be determined as we are learning more about the variants and where the virus is at.”

“It is absolutely clear boosters are keeping people out of the hospital, they are reducing death rates and, what we are seeing is, it’s slowing down the spread,” Walz added.

Only about 57 percent of the 3.7 million Minnesotans who were initially vaccinated have gotten a booster. Since fall, everyone 12 and up is eligible for an extra dose — people 50 and older as well as those who are at high risk of serious illness were recently encouraged to get another shot.

Vaccines have proven effective at preventing severe COVID-19 infections, but the protection they provide wanes considerably after about five months. Immunity from previous infection is less protective and can disappear even more quickly, health officials say.

The majority of new cases are people who were initially vaccinated. State data does not specify if someone with a breakthrough case got additional doses of vaccine.

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19 continues to evolve, and the last omicron subvariant, BA.2 is significantly more contagious than previous strains. It is now the dominate subvariant in Minnesota, but another relative, BA.2.12.1, has also been detected.

Cases are on the rise, but the latest uptick in cases is nowhere near the spike Minnesota experienced in January. The true total of new cases is unclear because of the growing popularity of at-home testing.

Another 2,570 infections were reported by the state Department of Health Wednesday, pushing the state total to nearly 1.5 million since the pandemic began.

Health officials expect infections to drop off throughout the warmer months before re-emerging in the fall.

Even with the increase of cases, hospitalizations and deaths remain low.

There are 286 patients hospitalized including 22 in intensive care, a modest increase over the late March low-point of about 185 COVID-19 hospital patients.

Another three COVID-19 deaths were also reported Wednesday and 12,515 Minnesotans have died since March 2020. The latest reported deaths include Ramsey County residents in their late 50s and late 60s.

Malcolm credited vaccines and coronavirus treatments, such as antivirals and monoclonal antibodies, with keeping the rate of severe cases down.

“This virus should keep us all a bit humble. We continue to learn,” Malcolm said. “Each new variant brings with it new questions” about whether treatments and vaccines will remain effective.

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