Declining COVID-19 ICU admissions in Minnesota a sign of vaccine progress

Feb 26, 20210

AARON LAVINSKY • Star Tribune count

Medical assistant Saido Mohamud used a Sharpie pen to tap bubbles out of a syringe earlier this month as she filled it with a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Minnetonka Medical Center.

The number of COVID-19 patients in Minnesota intensive care beds declined to 50 on Wednesday, a signal to at least one doctor that the state's vaccination campaign is paying off.

Total COVID-19 hospitalizations declined this week to a level not seen in Minnesota since mid-September, but the number of those patients in ICU beds declined to a level not seen since April. At its peak on Dec. 1, Minnesota had 399 COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU beds.

Dr. Andrew Olson of M Health Fairview said the more rapid decline in ICU admissions suggests that the oldest and most vulnerable patients are getting vaccinated, so fewer people needing hospital care are suffering severe cases of COVID-19.

https://www.startribune.com/declining-covid-19-icu-admissions-in-minnesota-a-sign-of-vaccine-progress/600027388/