Nov 8, 2021 - COVID

All Skol, no shots: Vikings game vaccinations fall short

Minnesota Vikings fans cheer during the game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Minnesota Vikings fans cheer during the game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. Photo: Elsa/Getty Images

Efforts to vaccinate Vikings fans on game day have failed to run up the scoreboard on shots.

By the numbers: Just 147 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered through several highly touted pop-up clinics co-hosted by the team at home games between August and November, a Minnesota Department of Health spokesperson told Axios.

  • For context, U.S. Bank Stadium sits 66,000 fans.

Between the lines: Given the state and metro's high vaccination rate, there's a good chance many of those ticket-holders already got a jab.

  • But the low numbers for the promotion, which included a drawing for future game tickets, show the difficulty state officials face in reaching and inoculating the roughly 25% of Minnesotans 16-plus still on the vaccine sidelines.

Zoom out: The game-day clinics are part of a broader campaign that's included pop-ups at other well-attended events, including the State Fair and Farmfest.

  • "Every single shot administered protects another Minnesotan from COVID-19, and we'll keep looking for opportunities to get shots to Minnesotans who still need them," MDH's Devin Henry wrote in an email.
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