Local counties lagging in COVID-19 vaccinations

By Mark Anderson

Managing Editor

While 64 percent of adult Minnesotans have been vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, the four counties in the Staples-Motley area are still well below that figure.

Todd County has the lowest percentage, with 40 percent of the population over age 16 receiving at least one vaccination shot. Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic has stated that a much higher percentage of vaccinations will be needed to provide herd immunity in the overall population.

“It’s not clear if or when the U.S. will achieve herd immunity,” stated a Mayo Clinic news release, “However, the FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at protecting against severe illness requiring hospitalization and death due to COVID-19. Even if it isn’t currently possible to stop transmission of the COVID-19 virus, the vaccines are allowing people to better be able to live with the virus.”

A total of 7,686 county residents have received one shot, with 7,143 who have completed their vaccine series.

Wadena County has 48 percent vaccinated, with 5,132 total. Cass County is at 49 percent and Morrison County 46 percent.

Cook County, the Grand Marais/North Shore area, leads the state with 80 percent of adults vaccinated. It also has the lowest number of total cases in the state, 168, and is the only county with zero deaths from COVID-19. Olmstead County, the Rochester area, has 76 percent of residents vaccinated. Hennepin County, the Minneapolis area, has 73 percent vaccinated.

Infections

Morrison County has the area’s highest percentage of residents who have been infected with COVID-19 infections, with 12.8 percent of the population diagnosed with the disease.

Todd County and Wadena County have 11.6 percent who have been infected by COVID-19 and Cass County has 9.4 percent.

By comparison, Hennepin County has 9.4 percent.

Deaths

Morrison County has recorded 60 deaths attributed to COVID-19, Todd County has 32, and Wadena County 22. Cass County has 32 deaths, with six of those in the past six weeks.

Going by population, Morrison County has the area’s highest percentage of deaths with .18 percent of the population, or one out of every 556 residents, dying from the disease.

Cass County has the area’s lowest percentage of COVID-19 deaths, with .11 percent, or one out of every 909 residents.

Todd County had .13 percent (1 of every 769 residents) and Wadena County had .16 percent (1 of every 625 residents) who died from COVID-19.

By comparison, Hennepin County has seen .14 percent of the population die from COVID-19, or one out of every 714 residents.

Analysis

Hennepin County was the first place in Minnesota to record cases of COVID-19, while Wadena County was one of the last places, yet their numbers have turned out to be somewhat similar, with Wadena County having slightly higher percentages.

Hennepin County enacted stringent masking and social distancing policies, while area counties had sporadic masking. Most public events in the area enacted masking and social distancing precautions, and many meetings were held online. Some businesses were able to allow employees to work from home.

Several COVID-19 outbreaks in the area were linked to work situations, family gatherings and events that did not practice precautions.

As the number of cases remains low throughout the state, communities can start to use the data compiled to see how well the precautions have worked. It is still unknown if future outbreaks will occur more often in areas with lower vaccination rates. Statistics show that vaccinations reduce the severity of the virus.