COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics Completed for Minnesota’s Care Centers

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Jeff Bostic

According to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), 97% of care centers had completed their third vaccination clinics as of last week Wednesday, marking essentially the end of the mass vaccination effort in those settings. At that time, 97% of Assisted livings had conducted a second clinic. With only third clinics in assisted living remaining, the program is expected to be completed by the end of the month.

MDH shares with LeadingAge Minnesota weekly updates of the results of its COVID-19 vaccination survey, as well as the subset of results specific to LeadingAge Minnesota members. As of last week, MDH had responses from 94% of care centers and 61% of assisted living providers, so thanks to all the providers taking time to submit their information at a busy time.

First dose staff vaccination rates were 57% in all reporting care centers and 50% in all reporting assisted living settings. The difference is due to care centers being ahead of the curve on the number of clinics held; the staff vaccination rate in assisted living has room to rise with the completion of third clinics.

The change in the data over time indicates that some staff who did not participate in the first round of vaccination clinics are deciding to be vaccinated in the second or third clinics. National provider associations including LeadingAge have set a goal of 75% staff vaccination rate, and Minnesota made a strong effort but has come up short of that in this initial mass vaccination effort. Resident vaccination rates have been high in both settings; more than 87% of care center residents and 89% of assisted living residents have received their first dose.

The LeadingAge Minnesota staff and resident vaccination rates match very closely the statewide rates in the MDH report on all providers. Our members have 58% care center staff and 50% assisted living staff first dose rates, and our resident first dose rates are 88% in care centers and 89% in assisted living.

The MDH report also looks at regional differences in vaccination rates. The Twin Cities Metro area has the highest staff vaccination rates of any region, at 58% in care centers and 36% in assisted living.  Meanwhile, the MDH central region, which includes St. Cloud and the Brainerd area, has the lowest rates at 40% in care centers and 30% in assisted living.

With the mass vaccination clinics winding down and staff vaccination rates lower than what had been hoped, the Long Term Care Imperative and MDH are talking about the future of vaccination data collection and what the goal should be for staff vaccination rates moving forward. Providers can expect to see some changes to the questions and timing of the vaccination survey soon.