MANKATO — Updated COVID-19 vaccines are now available at Mankato pharmacies after a summer of elevated hospitalization counts in the wider region.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the latest version of the vaccines Aug. 22. There are different vaccines for people ages 12 and older than for those between 6 months and up to 12 years of age, according to the announcement.
Local pharmacies confirmed vaccines arrived already or were set to arrive by the end of this week, with Cub Foods Mankato East pharmacist manager Jerry Borth saying people have been inquiring about the timing.
“Yes indeed, we’ve had people every day ask when we’re going to get it,” he said mid-week. “They’re anxious to get immunized.”
He’d seen an increase in Paxlovid medication prescriptions, used to treat COVID-19, over the previous 10 days.
“That would be a good barometer of what’s happening in the community when we see that many prescriptions.”
Tracking COVID-19 spread isn’t as straightforward now as it was during the pandemic’s peak when the Minnesota Department of Health reported daily case counts by county. Weekly hospitalization data and other metrics are useful alternatives, and they point to COVID-19 levels being higher this summer than a year ago.
Blue Earth County had 24 hospitalizations from COVID-19 between early June and late August this summer, compared to six last year, according to health department data. South-central Minnesota’s nine counties overall had 84 such hospitalizations this summer, more than three times the 26 reported in summer 2023.
The south-central region’s trend matches the statewide picture, where 1,915 Minnesotans were hospitalized from COVID-19 this year as opposed to 944 last year.
Summer is usually a down period for infectious illnesses. Vaccine rollout comes just as the state approaches the traditional cold and influenza season, stretching from fall to spring.
The FDA’s approval announcement referenced waning immunity to COVID-19 in encouraging people to re-up this fall.
“Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention,” stated Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “These updated vaccines meet the agency’s rigorous, scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality. Given waning immunity of the population from previous exposure to the virus and from prior vaccination, we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants.”
Cub Foods was to get the vaccines by Friday and will accept both walk-ins and people who sign up for vaccine appointments online, Borth said. Parents can bring in children as young as age 5 for the updated immunization.
Hy-Vee announced it had the vaccines Tuesday. People can save time by booking an appointment in advance, according to the release.
Flu vaccines, meanwhile, arrived earlier. He encouraged people to wait until at least Sept. 1 to get it.
“We want to make sure immunity remains into next spring,” Borth said.