Reaching that rate would allow the state to achieve herd immunity, where a virus is unlikely to infect people who lack immunity because a majority of a population would have it. But Minnesota anticipates falling short. As of June 7, only 60% of Minnesota’s population is fully vaccinated.
Still, another group of people want the vaccine. They just don’t know where to find it, or if they can, they have a hard time getting to it. In Minnesota, as in many states, Black, Hispanic and Native American residents have received disproportionately fewer vaccine doses.
Meanwhile, Metro Transit, which provides transit service in the Twin Cities, had a surplus of buses available. The agency reduced service by as much as 40% as ridership plummeted during the pandemic.
From the East Coast to the West, health officials are taking the Covid-19 vaccines on the road.
Across the country, nurses, technicians, emergency medical workers and community partners are rolling up to the doorsteps, streets and churches of people who are homeless, who live in areas without reliable transportation or who have no internet access.
Their goal: to reach the unvaccinated stragglers in overlooked neighborhoods, plugging a vulnerable gap in the nationwide effort to outmaneuver death. Some people are encumbered by jobs or the responsibility of child care. Others struggle with dire poverty. Many are adrift, out of reach or uninformed.
KSTP Created: April 21, 2021 04:17 PM
The Minnesota Department of Health and Metro Transit are working together with the Metropolitan Council and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota to convert a fleet of six Metro Transit buses into mobile vaccine clinics.
According to MDH, the mobile vaccination clinics will be deployed to communities that might not have access to as many vaccine opportunities. MDH plans to use these mobile units throughout the entire state.
“The mass vaccination efforts are great in that they provide thousands of vaccines at a time, but they’re pretty limited in where they’re available, said Emily Smoak, mobile vaccine units lead for the Minnesota Department of Health.