Southern weather delays COVID-19 vaccine shipments to Minnesota

DULUTH, Minn. (FOX 9) - A northern Minnesota county says the severe winter weather in the southern United States has delayed its shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine, a problem which the Minnesota Department of Health says is widespread. 

St. Louis County, Minnesota said it had to cancel three vaccination clinics scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday this week.

Several hundred appointments were affected, the county’s public health department says. The county says it hopes its vaccine clinics later in the week will not be affected. Health officials say those who had their appointments canceled will be contacted later in the week with rescheduling information.

The county is expecting a one or two-day delay in shipments.

In a statement Tuesday, the Minnesota Department of Health said the shipments are too numerous for the department to track, but that "all vaccinators are experiencing difficulty receiving timely deliveries."

Here is the full statement from the Department of Health: 

Shipping companies contracted to deliver the vaccine have been greatly impacted by the severe winter weather gripping the southern United States.  This is resulting in delays in vaccination deliveries on a national scale. 

Shipments to local public health agencies, health care coalitions and other vaccine recipients are too numerous for the Minnesota Department of Health to comprehensively track.  Each of these agencies is provided with individual tracking numbers and information to monitor when their shipments are due to arrive. All vaccinators are experiencing difficulty receiving timely deliveries.