Hello Minnesotans:

 

The state continues to ramp up and expand vaccination efforts as we receive more doses from our partners at the federal level. On Monday, Governor Walz made more than 35,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses available for Minnesota seniors and launched a statewide vaccine finder to connect Minnesotans age 65+ to vaccination opportunities in communities near where they live. Once the federal government provides more doses to distribute, there will be more than 1,600 providers who have registered to administer the vaccine. 

 

This week, Governor Walz also introduced permanent state-run community vaccination clinics in Duluth and Minneapolis, as well as a site in southern Minnesota that will launch next week. This plan will help to ensure that Minnesotans are vaccinated in a large-scale, efficient way when we receive more vaccines in the coming months. 

 

On Wednesday, MNsure announced that beginning Tuesday, February 16th, they will open a three-month special enrollment period to help any Minnesotan not currently enrolled through MNsure secure health insurance coverage. This announcement follows the nationwide special enrollment period established by President Biden for those states who use healthcare.gov, the federally run health insurance marketplace. This special enrollment period is another opportunity for uninsured Minnesotans, or those currently enrolled outside of MNsure, to sign up for comprehensive health care coverage.  

 

In a bipartisan effort in the senate to expand vaccination efforts, the Health and Human Services Finance and Policy committee which I serve on passed SF 475 to the floor on Wednesday. The bill will allow dentists to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. This is one more tool to expand our workforce in vaccine administration.

 

On Wednesday, a bill was heard in the senate’s Education Finance Policy committee that sought to forbid transgender girls from participating in sports. I strongly oppose this effort. Throughout history, sports have been discriminatory, whether through the exclusion of women, Black and brown people, the disabled or LGBTQIA+ athletes. At its core, organized sports should teach our kids a good work ethic, teamwork, leadership, and sportsmanship – all of which contribute to their development as good human beings. This discriminatory bill runs counter to that effort, puts transgender girls and trans-femme youth in danger and contributes to the hate and harm that people face daily. Every student should feel safe, supported, and valued in school, which includes athletics.

 

 

Please reach out to my office with any questions or concerns.

 

 

Sincerely, 

 

 

Sen. Matt Klein