Senior citizens left frustrated with not getting COVID shots

Frustration is mounting among senior citizens who want to get COVID-19 vaccinations, but a limited supply of vaccine is forcing them to wait.
Last week Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced that people 65 and older could begin getting vaccinated. However, Steele County Public Health Director Amy Caron said the governor’s wish was premature, at least for counties in southeastern Minnesota.
“It left us standing there empty handed,” said Caron. “Our issue is not the distribution, but it’s the supply of vaccine that we are getting. We simply don’t have the vaccine to do it.”
Public Health has been fielding many calls from senior citizens wishing to be vaccinated, according to Caron. “Rightly so they are anxious to get their shots,” she said. “We do sympathize with them; we just ask them to be patient.”
Steele County, Caron said, has been receiving about 200 doses of vaccine in recent weeks. The current stock of vaccine is being used to finish the first phase of healthcare and EMS workers. Caron said she hopes to finish up the first phase this week. Another factor impacting the supply is that this week the county is beginning to give out second doses to those who have already received the first shot.
Caron didn’t have an exact time frame as to when senior citizens would be able to get their COVID-19 shots. Her best guess at this point is some time in February. Included with seniors in the next phase will be school personnel and daycare providers, she said.
Caron is also scrambling to deal with another mandate given out this week by state officials. The state has set the expectation that 90% of doses provided to local counties must be utilized within 72 hours and 100% within seven days. Caron said Steele County has no problem getting the vaccine out within a week, but may have to do some adjusting to hit the 72-hour mark.
“It has been difficult to plan clinics because we don’t know how many doses we will get each week,” Caron said, adding her department will be reviewing this week how they are implementing clinics in order to hit the state’s expectations.
Meanwhile, Steele County experienced another death from COVID complications within the past week. Caron said a man in his 60s died, making him the youngest victim to die in the county since the pandemic began. She did not have any further details on the victim.
Steele County had 60 new cases over the past week, bringing the county’s total to 2,796 with 10 deaths and 1,718 recovered. Dodge County had 53 new cases and now has hit the 1,400 mark.