Earlier this week, Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP) member and former Minnesota House Representative Alice Mann, MD, MPH, joined a group of Minnesota physicians and health care workers from across the state at Hennepin Healthcare Clinic & Specialty Center in Minneapolis. The group shared stories to help shed light on what’s happening in Minnesota hospitals (with the current surge and capacity and workforce issues) and asked Minnesotans to, once again, help slow the spread of COVID-19. Read press release.
Minnesota now has the third highest infection rate in the US and our hospitals across the state are at or near capacity.
This past week, Minnesota’s nine major hospital/health systems took out a full-page ad in papers across the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota, urging Minnesotans to take steps, as holidays and end-of-year celebrations are approaching, to protect themselves and each other.
Mann said, “Part of our training as family physicians is to help patients avoid illness through preventive care. The crushing reality is that the large majority of the hospitalized COVID patients could have been prevented with vaccinations.”
How Can You Help?
Please get vaccinated or boosted; it’s still our best protection against severe illness and death from COVID-19. Find your vaccine/booster shot in Minnesota.
Also, keep wearing a mask in indoor public places, practicing physical distancing and avoiding crowded/poorly ventilated spaces, and stay home when you’re sick!
Find additional COVID-19 patient education resources at FamilyDoctor.org or via the CDC or the Minnesota Department of Health. Your family physician or primary care doctor is also an incredible resource that can help you navigate your questions and get evidence-based answers to guide your health care decisions.