COVID-19 News
COVID-19 Vaccination Protects You and Everyone
Let’s work together and helps MN to get fully vaccinated! With vaccination, we can stop the spread of the virus and make life back to normal
Vaccine Summary (5+) in MN
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Up to Date
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
BREAKING NEWS
Minnesotans can now order the second set of testing kits
What you need to know on COVID-19 Vaccine
How to advise your community
Suggested Talking Points
Updated News and Report from Pandemic to Prosperity
Minnesotans can now order the second set of testing kits
Every home in Minnesota is eligible to order four rapid at-home COVID-19 test kits (eight tests total) for free, while supplies last. Each test kit contains two tests. There is a limit of four test kits per Minnesota home address.
To learn more and place an order, visit: https://mn.gov/covid19/get-tested/at-home/index.jsp
What you need to know on COVID-19 Vaccine
- CDC recommends that everyone ages 5 years and older get their primary series of COVID-19 vaccine, and everyone ages 12 years and older also receive a booster. Some people can receive two boosters.
- People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised have specific COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, including recommendations for a booster. Learn more about COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised.
- Use CDC’s COVID-19 booster tool to learn if and when you can get boosters to stay up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines.
- The following COVID-19 vaccine and booster recommendations may be updated as CDC continues to follow data related to vaccine effectiveness and safety, waning immunity, and protection against variants.
How to advise your community
Based on what we know about how vaccines and our immune systems work, Omicron is unlikely to be completely resistant to our vaccines and strong immunity will likely prevent serious illness or more severe consequences. This means that getting vaccinated remains the best way to prepare.
Encourage the unvaccinated in your community to get their shots as soon as possible. This especially includes children and teens, who more recently became eligible for the vaccine. For those who are vaccinated, encourage them to get their booster shots. The CDC strengthened its booster recommendation this week in response to the news of Omicron. The agency is now saying that all adults “should” rather than “may” receive a booster. The CDC does not make changes like this lightly, so this shows just how seriously U.S. health officials are treating the situation.
Besides getting vaccinated, the other public health measures we’ve used throughout the pandemic continue to be relevant: wash your hands, wear masks in higher-risk situations, spend time in ventilated spaces, and get tested.
It’s also important to advise your community to beware of misinformation that may be spreading about the new variant. Misinformation flourishes during times of uncertainty. Emphasize that people are about to see a lot of misinformation about Omicron, so they should be more skeptical than normal when seeing any information about it.
Suggested Talking Points
- Omicron was declared a variant of concern due to its large number of mutations.
- Although much remains unknown, scientists around the world are working hard to provide us with answers.
- Getting the vaccine and getting a booster shot remain the best ways for your community members to protect themselves.
Updated News and Report from Pandemic to Prosperity
January 2022 marks two years since Covid was first announced on U.S. soil. Today, we release our latest national report, a timely and comprehensive overview of the Covid-related impacts on all Americans’ lives and livelihoods, governments, civic institutions, and overall well-being.
State and local governments prioritizing projects for the American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act can use these findings to target structural disparities that ultimately undermine community resilience. Some key findings in the report can be found below:
- Anxiety and depression levels have nearly tripled from 11% in 2019 to 31% in December 2021 but people aren’t able to find the care they need.
- In 2021, 60% of rural counties had no pediatricians, forcing rural residents to travel long distances to get care or simply go without.
- More than 1 in 10 households lacked internet access in 2020, with over 18% of residents in AK, MS, NM, and WV lacking broadband — essential for staying connected in our increasingly digital society.
- 70 new local newsrooms have launched since 2020, many supported by philanthropic dollars. Most notable is a rise in local news publications by and for Black, Latino, LGBTQIA+, and other historically underserved communities.
The effects of the pandemic have been deep and long — with no end in sight. Scientists are concerned that the continued emergence of new variants could mean multiple outbreaks per year — outbreaks that are just as disruptive as the Omicron variant has been.
As the nation considers how to survive and thrive in this “new normal,” strategic investments in health care, child care, workforce upskilling, and resilient infrastructure will be critical for smoothing out the bumps in the road ahead.
ABOUT US
Project HEALINGS (Health Education and Adult Learning Incorporated with Navigating Government Systems) is created as a HUB for improved health and wellness among Minnesotans disenfranchised by identity and circumstance, facing disparities in both healthcare access and health outcomes, and impacted disproportionately by the COVID-19 pandemic. HEALINGS is about vaccination, but it is also about connectivity, trust, and systemic evolution designed intentionally to eradicate inequities for Black, Indigenous, and other persons of color (BIPOC) living here.
Find Vaccines Near You
THE WORKS
HEALINGS will be executed by an alliance of nonprofit organizations deeply embedded within BIPOC communities and effectively connected with government and health sector entities. The allied community-based organizations are led by Diversity Council, a nonprofit focused on health equity with more than 30 years of service in the state. The 20 plus implementation partners who have joined the alliance have proven engagement and programmatic successes as well. Each is committed to collaborative work and aligned with the purpose and outcomes of HEALINGS.
Though a work plan that includes:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT STATEMENT
This Project HEALINGS is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $1 million with 20% percentage financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.
This project is supported in part by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through NNPHI. The contents of this document are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.