New COVID boosters to reach Minnesota this week, but funding limits incentives

New variant-specific COVID-19 boosters should be available in Minnesota this week, but don’t expect them to be wheeled to your neighborhood in a city bus or come with a chance at a college scholarship.

Federal and state funding has dried up for the incentives that helped motivate hesitant recipients and boosted Minnesota’s COVID-19 vaccination rate over the past two years. The Minnesota Department of Health has other plans in mind, though, including outreach to people at greatest risk of severe COVID-19 and the opening of more pop-up vaccination sites this month.

“We might not have the incentives and the mobile buses but the state is making a very strong effort to make it geographically available and also really focusing on our underserved populations and communities to make sure they have access to the vaccine,” said Jennifer Heath, MDH immunizations program manager.

Federal guidance this week made 3.5 million vaccinated Minnesotans eligible for new bivalent boosters, which increase protection against initial coronavirus strains and add protection against the now dominant BA.5 and BA.4 variants. People 12 and older are encouraged to seek the shots three months after infections or two months after completing the initial vaccine series or receiving older boosters.

An eager first wave of people is likely to snap up initial vaccination appointments — as happened with earlier COVID-19 vaccine expansions in Minnesota. Some people delayed recommended boosters this summer on the promise of the new Moderna and Pfizer versions this fall.

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