Kasson Hy-Vee offers COVID-19 vaccine

Kasson’s HyVee Pharmacy is among the Hy-Vee stores in Minnesota that have been added to the network of pharmacies offering the COVID-19 vaccination.
The local store received their first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine a week ago Monday and began distributing them right away, said Mark Lawrence, Kasson store manager.
Minnesota Hy-Vees received a total of 10,000 doses of the vaccine with the Kasson store receiving 120 of those.
Registration opened up through the Hy-Vee website and the local store had booked out all the slots by the first night, Lawrence said. The last of the doses were given on Friday.
Under the rules set out by the state, the doses available at the Hy-Vee and other pharmacies are designated only for those individuals 65 and older. Proof of age is necessary to receive the innoculation. While teachers are eligible for the COVID vaccine in Minnesota, he said, retail pharmacies that are part of the federal program are limited to vaccinating those 65 and older.
As of Monday, Lawrence said, the pharmacy was not making appointments as no vaccine was available.
“Right now we’re kind of delayed,” Lawrence said. “We’re expecting them (additional doses) Tuesday or Wednesday. Hopefully we’ll be able to get it out to more soon.”
There are no residency requirements as to who can sign up for a vaccine, he said, so all seniors in the area are eligible.
Other area Hy-Vees in Rochester and Owatonna are also offering the vaccine.
In announcing the availability of the vaccine at Hy-Vee last week, Gov. Tim Walz said the company was joining two other Minnesota pharmacies – Walmart and Thrifty White - that are participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program that launched earlier this month.
“We’re working to mobilize every opportunity we have to get our Minnesota seniors vaccinated as quickly and safely as possible,” said Walz in making the announcement. 
State health officials have said that they expect that 70% of Minnesota residents over 65 will have been vaccinated by the end of March. When that number has been reached, the state will open the eligibility list further.
The next group expected to be eligible for the COVID vaccine in April are medically vulnerable and essential workers such as those working in food-processing plants.
By late spring the plan is to vaccinate those ages 45 to 64 with one or more high-risk medical conditions and some other essential workers not previously eligible.
People 16 or older with underlying medical conditions, all Minnesotans 50 and older and remaining essential workers will be next in line.
It is expected that by summer all Minnesotans will be eligible.
It is also expected the pace of vaccinations will be increasing with the Sunday’s approval of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. State health officials said earlier this week they were expecting more than 45,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to arrive this week and join the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines currently being given.
Renee Berg contributed to this story.