Here are the vaccination rates of Minnesota counties with 'substantial' or 'high' COVID transmission
The CDC's new guidance for mask use while in public, indoor spaces (read more about it here) is based, in part, on the level of community transmission in a given area.
In counties with "substantial" or "high" transmission, everyone should wear a face mask while in public and indoors, regardless of an individual's vaccination status.
Fourteen Minnesota counties have what the CDC considers substantial or high transmission, a list Bring Me The News shared yesterday. But many readers asked to also see the vaccination rate of these counties.
We've compiled the data here, looking at those with at least one vaccine dose among people 16-plus and among the total county population. Minnesota's overall vaccination rates are at the top for comparison.
| County | Transmission | 16+ vaxx rate (at least 1 dose) | Total pop. vaxx rate (at least 1 dose) |
|---|---|---|---|
Minnesota | n/a | 68.4% | 56.4% |
Lake of the Woods | High | 60% | 49.6% |
Lake | High | 68.2% | 59% |
Wilkin | High | 54.6% | 44.7% |
Redwood | High | 54.5% | 44.2% |
Roseau | Substantial | 52.5% | 41.9% |
Traverse | Substantial | 64.7% | 54.2% |
Pope | Substantial | 57.3% | 47.6% |
Swift | Substantial | 57.5% | 47.2% |
Cottonwood | Substantial | 59.7% | 47.9% |
Waseca | Substantial | 56.1% | 46.2% |
Dodge | Substantial | 62.4% | 50.3% |
Scott | Substantial | 72.3% | 57.4% |
Isanti | Substantial | 48.9% | 39.3% |
Mille Lacs | Substantial | 47.3% | 38% |
Mille Lacs and Isanti counties are on the low side when it comes to one-dose vaccination rates compared to the other 12 counties on the list, though Scott and Lake are on the high end.
Scott County is the only county in the Twin Cities metro to have "high" or "substantial" transmission of COVID-19, and while its vaccination rate is higher than the others, population density may play a factor in the virus' spread, given that Scott is the 6th most densely populated county in Minnesota.
Most of the 14 counties, though not all, have lower vaccination rates than the state as a whole.
So what is the CDC looking at? Two main factors:
- Total new cases per 100,000 persons in the past 7 days: 50-99.99 is "substantial," more than that is considered "high."
- Percentage of nucleic acid amplification tests that are positive during the past 7 days: 8-9.99% is substantial, higher than that is considered high
Overall community transmission in the U.S. is considered high.
CDC
