Minnesota National Guard called in to rescue 'misdirected' COVID vaccines

The Minnesota National Guard was called into action Friday evening to quickly rescue a set of COVID-19 vaccines that had been "misdirected."

The 11 boxes of vaccine containing almost 4,000 doses bound for Minnesota were sent instead to Memphis, Tennessee.

After Gov. Tim Walz's office reached out to the White House Friday afternoon, the shipment was then flown to the Twin Cities the same evening.

The MN National Guard's Medical Detachment were then on hand to collect the shipment, before "immediately transporting them to the four corners of the state to supply shot clinics for this weekend."

The National Guard has been heavily involved in Minnesota's COVID vaccine rollout and COVID response.

In January, it began helping the Minnesota Department of Health at 10 community vaccination sites around the state, has hosted testing sites at its facilities, and has also been involved in the COVID prevention programs at Minnesota long-term care facilities.