County Health Officials Examining Causes of Vaccine Slowdown

WINONA, Minn. (KWNO)-Winona County health officials are trying to get to the root cause of a slowdown in demand for vaccine appointments in the county.  

Public Health Supervisor Melanie Tatge said they’ve seen more appointments going unused at county vaccine clinics.  

“We’ve had discussions of what possible barriers there are,” said Tatge. “It could just be the vaccine hesitancy that comes with any vaccine. So, we’ve been really trying to provide education on the safety [and] the efficacy of these vaccines to overcome that.”  

Tatge said health officials are also examining the locations of vaccine clinics and if residents are faced with transportation barriers to get to clinics.  

She also talked about community members not wanting to cut ahead of vulnerable populations.  

“If you’re in that population who is waiting, I would strongly encourage you to consider receiving your vaccine now,” Tatge said.  

Thursday’s update to the Minnesota Department of Health’s vaccine dashboard shows 22,580 Winona County residents have gotten at least one shot. The data also shows 11,761 shots administered in April, compared to 16,102 in March.