Nov. 16, 2021

COVID-19 is ratcheting up the pressure on hospitals as a summer-fall surge continues to pummel Minnesota.

Key metrics are at or near their highest levels since December with counts rising rapidly. The rate of COVID-19 tests coming back positive topped 10 percent Tuesday, according to MPR News calculations. That’s twice the rate officials find concerning — a key signal the virus’ spread is accelerating.

The state’s concerned enough about the current situation that officials intend to move ahead this week to offer vaccine booster shots to any eligible Minnesotan who wants one , whether or not federal officials expand eligibility, Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm told reporters Tuesday.

Minnesota is now the fastest growing hot spot in the country based on numbers of cases per 100,000 people, Malcolm said. “We’re all tired of this pandemic but it's not even close to over.”

Asked why circumstances have worsened so much lately in Minnesota, Malcolm said the picture wasn’t clear but that waning immunity from vaccine shots administered earlier in the year played a role, along with people moving indoors with the weather and the highly contagious nature of the virus’ delta variant.

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