COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Special Bulletin

Minnesota Department of Health sent this bulletin at 12/16/2021 01:30 PM CST
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Thank you, vaccination providers!

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Minnesota Department of Health

December 16, 2021

 

Thank you, vaccination providers!

As we mark one year of COVID-19 vaccination, we couldn’t be more grateful for our vaccinating providers in Minnesota. You truly stepped up to vaccinate our state while utilizing all the best practices for providing vaccinations. With constantly changing recommendations, you were there staying up on current practices. When asked to set up vaccination clinics that were safe for both staff and the public, you were there following infection prevention guidelines. When our most vulnerable communities, including our long-term care residents, needed vaccinations, you were there organizing clinics and administering vaccines with a calm, reassuring presence. When Minnesotans needed you, you were there. With the utmost appreciation and gratitude, we want to thank you for being partners in this pandemic response and providing hope to all those we serve.

Your contributions to the pandemic response are extraordinary

While the clinical rigor of this response has been challenging, our providers have made an equally immense effort to document every dose of vaccine in the Minnesota Immunization Information Connection (MIIC). Having this information is invaluable to people and to ensuring our response is equitable and effective!

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) would like to thank all providers for the wonderful partnership in this huge effort. Providers have worked closely with our MIIC staff to ensure COVID-19 vaccine data quality and timeliness and have improved their data entry processes and systems along the way. Thank you all for the incredible efforts!

We also thank you for assisting us in the tireless effort to distribute vaccine. Between registering as providers, submitting vaccine requests, managing storage and handling, and helping with redistribution, your work has allowed us to distribute millions of doses throughout the state making viable vaccine readily available for every Minnesotan. Thank you for your partnership and commitment!

One year of COVID-19 vaccine in Minnesota, by the numbers

  • 8,593,946 COVID-19 immunizations were reported to MIIC!
  • Since January 2020, 2,447 providers enrolled in MIIC for the first time.
  • Since distribution began, 6.7 million first and second doses have been shipped to Minnesota providers by MDH (not including Federal Retail Pharmacy Program [FRPP] doses).
  • Nationally, 7% of the 572 million doses distributed were reported as wastage. In Minnesota, only 3.7% of the 6.7 million doses distributed were reported as wastage.

A special thank you to local public and tribal health

While all of our partners have been critical to the success of the vaccination campaign, today we want to highlight local public health (LPH) and tribal health (TH) departments as the unsung heroes in their local communities. They have been critical in knowing their communities, identifying strengths and challenges, finding gaps in coverage, and coordinating vaccination efforts. LPH and TH have administered over 870,000 doses of vaccine or about 10% of all the vaccine in the state. Just as importantly, they have coordinated with schools and jails; supported community vaccinators with resources; helped redistribute vaccine to smaller sites and providers; and worked within their community to promote vaccine awareness and knowledge.