By Lee Egerstrom Minnesota came roaring back to normalcy for the Memorial Day weekend and start of summer but the coronavirus threat lingers on with health officials continuing to stress the importance of getting COVID-19 vaccine protection. At the same time that Gov. Tim Walz and federal officials were lifting restraints on businesses and gatherings […]
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By Lee Egerstrom As the year 2020 winds down, the outlook for the COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota can be described as improved but far from controlled. That is especially so for the Native American communities where relatives and friends may have gathered for the Christmas season or are planning to do so for New Year’s […]
By Lee Egerstrom Vaccines for preventing the COVID-19 virus began arriving in Minnesota a week before the Christmas holidays even as the state was reaching new milestones for infections, hospitalizations and deaths. More than 3,000 frontline healthcare workers were among the first to be inoculated after initial shipments of the Pfizer vaccine reached Minnesota destinations […]
By Lee Egerstrom The long-awaited COVID-19 vaccines are now reaching the states, Minnesota included; but the grass may again be green before most Native Minnesotans and state citizens will get a poke in the arm. The first 3,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived in the Twin Cities on Monday, Dec. 14. State health officials […]
By Lee Egerstrom A research group has pulled together data that show Native American workers and other minorities are at greater risk of becoming infected by COVID-19 because they hold jobs that require in-person, or face-to-face contact with others. The Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said in a Dec. 1 report that 51 […]
By Lee Egerstrom Health officials at both the federal and state levels are developing plans to assist Indian health providers in accessing and administering vaccines for the COVID-19 pandemic, regardless which treatments gain approval for release to the public. Three potential vaccines now appear promising. Clinical trial data are being examined for federal health approval […]
By Lee Egerstrom With all 50 states reporting spikes in COVID-19 pandemic cases, and with Minnesota and Upper Midwest states in the thick of it, new state guidelines and restrictions for social gatherings have gone into effect. Thanksgiving celebrations, except for households, will need to be scaled back. The new guidelines announced in the second […]
By Laurel Wamsley/ MPR The Food and Drug Administration is preparing for the eventual rollout of one or more COVID-19 vaccines – by identifying the concerns that some people have about taking such a vaccine. At a meeting, in late Octboer, of experts advising the FDA on COVID-19 vaccines, the concerns of front-line workers and […]
By Ivy Vainio Recently, it seems every time I log onto my Facebook page, I see at least one new post about an individual or family I know who has tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19). Many of these folx are Indigenous. According to a recent Minnesota Public Radio article there is a 75% increase […]
By Eddie Chuculate The Minnesota Department of Health is recommending that Native Americans get a flu shot this season, especially during COVID-19, as catching the flu would weaken your immune system and make you even more vulnerable to the deadly coronavirus disease. “The flu vaccine will not protect you from COVID-19,” the MDH said in […]
By Lee Egerstrom Minnesota recorded 35 new deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic on Oct 20, the highest daily death count since May 28 and a day after Minnesota state officials told state employees to “work from home if you can” until June next year. This guidance for state employees came as families must make plans […]
