Minneapolis, MN
‘It’s devastating’: Minneapolis health officials cancel vaccine clinics after loss of federal funding
Minneapolis health officials say they’re worried about vaccination rates falling, after federal funding cuts prompted the end of a city vaccine clinic program.
The Minneapolis Health Department canceled several upcoming community vaccine clinics, after the loss of federal funds. Officials said the city had about $1.5 million left in its grant for vaccine clinics.
That money allowed the city to partner with local organizations to host free “pop-up” clinics. Residents could get vaccinated against COVID-19, flu, Mpox and measles — all without an appointment, and without insurance.
Health department staff said the pop-up clinics got vaccines to people who might not have scheduled appointments at a standard clinic, with a focus on offering resources in underserved communities.
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Luisa Brandao is the director of public health initiatives at the Minneapolis Health Department.
“These community clinics are providing an opportunity for parents to bring their children to get caught up — if they don’t have insurance, if they didn’t have a primary medical home, to at least have the child come and get up-to-date,” Brandao said at a news conference Wednesday.
The city reports 30 percent of 6-year-olds in Minneapolis are missing some of the standard childhood immunizations — more than the number who were missing vaccines before the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, a measles outbreak in the city affected mostly school-aged kids. The city’s clinics had partnered with Minneapolis Public Schools to try to close the gap.
The Trump administration cut billions in COVID-19-related funding in March, saying the money was going to waste now that the public health emergency is over.
Brandao said she takes issue with that.
“One, COVID isn’t over, and two, there were a lot of fallouts from COVID that we still need to be addressing,” Brandao said.
The department’s federal funds had been scheduled to expire over the course of the next year. Staff said they weren’t prepared to lose the money now, several months ahead of schedule.
The funding cuts affected three staff members who had been working on the clinics; they’re still with the health department working on other projects.
Sebastiana Cervantes was one of the clinic staff. She said she’s working with former clinic partners to keep up vaccine education projects, now that she can’t plan clinics.
“It’s devastating to see how quickly those resources were taken from our community,” Cervantes said. “It’s just been a whirlwind.”
Staff said they’re looking for resources to supplement the federal funding — and making backup plans for other programs funded by federal dollars.
Health officials statewide are scrambling after the federal cuts. Last week, the Minnesota Department of Health announced layoffs for 170 employees.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis City Council to hear public comments on effort to repeal adult bathhouse ban
Minneapolis, MN
Search for permanent Minneapolis police chief has not started yet, commissioner says
Minneapolis leaders say police reform work is continuing as the city prepares to start its search for a new permanent police chief.
The city has said little publicly about the search for a new permanent Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) chief since Chief Brian O’Hara resigned more than two weeks ago.
Brian O’Hara resigns as Minneapolis police chief after report shows he interfered with investigation into his conduct
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS asked for an update alongside a new progress report on state-mandated reform efforts released on Thursday from city public safety leaders, including Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette and MPD Bureau Chief Ganesha Martin, who said they are confident reform work will not slow down after O’Hara’s resignation.
“Not at all,” said Martin. “So, Chief Peterson has been highly engaged, very open, curious, wanting to make sure to get up to speed on all the things that we’re doing.”
“The majority of the process is already in place, so I don’t think that it impacts the work that’s being done,” said Barnette.
What happens next?
Barnette also addressed whether ongoing mandated reforms could affect the city’s ability to hire a new chief. He said the work ahead is significant, but said he believes it will still draw interest.
“It’s a heavy lift, but having transformational reform that we’re institutionalizing here in the city is exciting work to do,” said Barnette. “So, I think we’re going to attract a lot of candidates. I don’t think that’s going to persuade anybody from not coming.”
Barnette said the hiring process is still in its early stages, adding that city leaders are still deciding what the search will look like.
“We’re still, we’re not even two weeks in with Chief Peterson yet,” said Barnette.
“We’re just going through, looking at what we did in the former search, what things that the mayor wants to see in this search, and then what input we’re going to get along the way,” said Barnette.
Has the search started?
When asked whether the official search had started, Barnette said no. He also said the city has not started talking to people yet.
The fourth quarterly progress report from independent monitor Effective Law Enforcement for All (ELEFA) also called the hiring of a new chief “an opportunity.” The report found “significant weaknesses” in the former chief’s review process for misconduct investigations.
Barnette said the city will begin the official search for a permanent chief “pretty soon.”
Below is a statement from Interim Chief Bill Peterson on the release of the fourth ELEFA report:
You can view the full ELEFA report below:
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