Dec. 14, 2020
Look for more clouds, and temperatures dropping. Lows will be from -10 to -5 in the north, to the single digits in the south, maybe as high as 12 degrees. Tomorrow will be cloudy with highs in the mid teens north to the upper 20s south. Check out the latest from Updraft.
The first shipments of the expected 46,800 COVID-19 vaccine doses started to arrive at hospitals around the state. The first boxes were unloaded at the loading dock at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center this morning, as well as at the Olmsted Medical Center. That first batch of 975 doses is for the Rochester hospital's front-line workers, including employees working in the intensive care unit and in the emergency room.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Randy Hemann says the hospital is preparing to give shots early next week. Right now, the facility is working through the logistics of making sure the rollout goes smoothly. "We need this week to get our vaccination site set up," Hemann said. "We need to have a place where people can be observed for 50 minutes after their shot for any adverse reactions."
Kris Ehresmann, head of infectious disease for the state health department, said it will take time to ramp up distribution. Ehresmann says details from federal approval are still working their way through the system, into training and vaccination criteria. “Our feeling is that we want to do this right and we want to do it safely," Ehresmann said, "and that’s more important than being first at this point.”
There were hopeful signs almost across the board in the latest COVID-19 data posted by the Minnesota Department of Health.
The latest data includes 18 additional deaths, the lowest daily toll in two weeks, and only about a quarter of the average death toll over the weekend. New confirmed cases of COVID-19 also fell to their lowest point in more than a month, even as tests were in line with recent daily averages. That's brought the positivity rate below 7 percent for only the second time since the end of October. New hospitalizations just topped 100, the lowest point for that indicator since before Election Day. You can get more of the latest news, in just a few minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast. — Tim Nelson | MPR News | 
