New Minnesota greeting: “Are you vaccinated?”
By Lee Egerstrom Businesses and entertainment venues throughout Minnesota are quickly imposing requirements on patrons and customers to show proof of COVID-19 vaccinations. The state is now following suit. If you want to work in-person jobs with state agencies, or with state agencies to work with the general public, you are now required to show […]
Delta variant is surging in Minnesota. Tribes not immune
By Lee Egerstrom Infections, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 and its more contagious delta variant are surging again in Minnesota even as vaccination rates increase. Health experts warn the state’s Native population isn’t immune. Students are returning to schools and a COVID outbreak already has 290 students quarantined from Albert Lea schools. School officials, local […]
Covid-19: The push is on to vaccinate our way to “herd immunity”
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 […]
Covid-19: New rules, licenses coming for assisted living home care providers
By Lee Egerstrom New protections for elders and others residing in long term assisted living-type facilities are coming on Aug. 1 along with new requirements and licenses for home care providers and their staffs. The stepped-up requirements and licensure for assisted living facilities come about from a 2019 Minnesota law passed well before the COVID-19 […]
White Earth, Mahnomen County collaboration leads to one of highest vaccination rates in MN
By Dan Gunderson/MPR Ever since Minnesota began distributing coronavirus vaccines to the public, Mahnomen County in northwestern Minnesota has consistently run ahead of the pack, vaccinating at rates that far surpass most of its peers. As of late February, a full 85 percent of people 65-years and older in the county have been vaccinated. Mahnomen’s […]
Distance learning still a struggle for Native students
By Lee Egerstrom Urban area students in younger grades are finding their way back into school classrooms while educators keep their fingers crossed that another surge in COVID-19 infections won’t push all students back into distance learning regimes. This is especially so for teachers and school administrators who have Native American students in their classes, […]
COVID-19 vaccines: Native Americans say “bring it on”
By Lee Egerstrom As January came to a close, greater supplies of COVID-19 vaccines were reaching Minnesota and there were signs Native Minnesotans were rolling up their sleeves to receive the life-saving vaccinations. State health officials were still concerned about the slow pace of receiving vaccine. Programs are in place for getting supplies to the […]
Indigenous organizations collaborate to feed their most vulnerable
By Kathryn Styer Martinez/MPR News It’s the first big snowstorm of winter. Bob Rice and Angel Swann are out running errands and picking up food in Rice’s minivan. Even though the weather reports advise against driving, Rice, an enrolled member of the White Earth Nation and a born-and-raised Minnesotan, says there are no snow days […]
Wrapping up 2020 but not the end of COVID-19 pandemic
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 […]
More than half of Native American workers are in risky jobs for COVID-19
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 […]
AICHO produces COVID-19 videos from Native physicians
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 […]
Native Americans urged to get flu shot during Covid-19 pandemic
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 […]