Black nurses come together for vaccine education

Good morning,

Soaking rains again. Today is the soggiest day of the week, with much of Minnesota forecast to get over an inch of rain. Highs today will range from the mid-40s in northwest to the 60s southeast. The wet weather will stay very persistent tomorrow, even though rain totals start to diminish. Check out the latest forecast from Updraft.

‘They want education’: Black nurses equip the vulnerable with vaccines, information Kelly Robinson, a nurse and president of the Twin Cities chapter of Black Nurses Rock, believes people of color and other marginalized groups aren’t simply against being vaccinated, they just haven’t been given information from a source they trust.

"People talk about hesitancy. It's like 'No, they want education. Don't just show up with a vaccine. Tell me what it's about. Talk to me, tell me what the options are,’” she said.

State and local health departments have partnered with organizations like Black Nurses Rock to vaccinate people who are at higher risk of getting severely ill from COVID-19, and who face barriers to access to the vaccine, including a lack of information and distrust of the medical system. Robinson joined up with the Power of People Leadership Institute in Minneapolis to educate and vaccinate people there.

MPD trainer: Officers not taught Chauvin’s knee restraint Lt. Johnny Mercil, a use-of-force trainer with the Minneapolis Police Department, said on the witness stand Tuesday that officers are not trained to use their legs or knees to restrain suspects. A key part of former MPD officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial defense is that his use of force against George Floyd was in line with department policy.

Mercil’s testimony comes after MPD Chief Medaria Arradondo’s Monday statements that Chauvin’s use of force was unwarranted.

“Once Mr. Floyd had stopped resisting, and certainly once he was in distress and trying to verbalize that, that should have stopped,” Arradondo said.

The trial continues at 9:15 a.m. Watch a livestream of the proceedings on MPRNews.org or our Facebook page.

All US adults vaccine-eligible by April 19, president says States must expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all U.S. residents 18 and older by April 19, President Joe Biden announced Tuesday. That’s an update to his previous mandate of May 1.

He also announced that 150 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in his first 75 days in office. His goal is to reach 200 million by the 100-day mark. Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. adults are fully vaccinated.

Minnesota opened up vaccinations to people 16 and older on March 30.

Here are Minnesota’s latest COVID-19 statistics:

6,889 deaths (4 new)

530,662 positive cases; 96 percent off isolation

33 percent of Minnesotans with at least one vaccine dose

83 percent of Minnesotans 65 and older with at least one vaccine dose

When the pandemic forced virtually all education online, music teachers faced special challenges. At 11 a.m., host Angela Davis talks with two music educators about music teachers’ and students’ experiences in the past year, and what lessons will stay with them as they start making music together in person.