Minnesota Surpasses 2 Million Vaccine Shots, 500K COVID-19 Cases

MINNESOTA — More than 500,000 Minnesota residents have now tested positive for the coronavirus after state health officials announced an additional 1,505 new cases on Thursday.

The milestone comes, however, as more Minnesotans are getting shots of the COVID-19 vaccines into their arms, according to the state Department of Health. As of Thursday, more than 2 million people have been vaccinated as the state’s coronavirus positivity rate continues to hover just over 4 percent.

A total of 501,458 people have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. Of the cases, 474,219 have been confirmed with the remaining 26,739 being listed as probable by state health officials.

State health officials also announced six additional coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, which takes Minnesota’s death toll to 6,762. Despite the new cases on Thursday, Gov. Tim Walz is encouraged by the rate that residents are being vaccinated.

According to state health data, 1.28 million residents have received at least one dose of the vaccines while 746,829 have been fully vaccinated. The Minnesota Department of Health reported that 76 percent of the state’s senior citizens have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

“With our strong network of hard-working providers and Minnesotans doing their part to end this pandemic by rolling up their sleeves when it’s their turn, we are proud of our state for working together and leading the nation in vaccine administration,” Walz said in a statement on Thursday.