This week on the Minnesota Native News Health Report…
All adults 18 and older are eligible and should get a Covid-19 booster shot and 400 MN National Guard members begin training to become temporary nursing aids… to help with health care worker shortage.
Plus, need help paying your home heating bill? … Or getting a broken furnace repaired?Federal funds are available…. We will tell you how to apply.
Story A
Federal regulators expanded COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to all adults… last week.
And now State Health Officials are urging all Minnesotans to get their booster shots… eligibility expands to all people 18 and up.
For people who received their first and second dose of the Pfiizer vaccine or the Moderna vaccine… they should get their booster shot 6-months after their second dose.
For people who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine…. They should get their booster shot 2-months after their single dose.
Getting a booster is the best way to maximize protection against serious illness and sometimes deadly effects of contracting COVID-19.
The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced these new booster recommendations for because evidence is mounting… that immunity to COVID infections from vaccines… lessens over time.
Mayo Clinic Doctor Abinash Virk explains: “Boosters have increased the antibody response significantly after the third dose much higher than even the second dose. Therefore, we know there is going to be increased protection.”
For more information about when and where to get your booster shot go online to
https://mn.gov/covid19/vaccine/connector/
Story B
This comes as cases continue to surge in our Minnesota… with the CDC reporting that all 87 counties in our state remained at a HIGH level of COVID-19 community transmissions.
This news is alarming Nursing home administrators who are having trouble keeping enough people on staff to care for elderly and vulnerable residents.
In response, Governor Walz has activated the National Guard to help facilities experiencing staff shortages and are struggling to meet the needs of patients in long-term care centers.
This week, 400 guard members began a one-week training session to become certified nursing assistants and temporary nursing aides. Then the guards will form skilled nursing response teams to provide on-site staffing support for up to 3 weeks at a time.
To get this help… Nursing home administrators just need to contact the MN Department of Health and ask for assistance.
The shortage of care workers is problem nationwide, with burned-out workers quitting in record numbers.
Story C
In other news… Winter weather means fun outdoor activities for many in our state… But for some… the cold temperatures raise concern and anxieties about how to pay for soaring heating bills.
The Energy Assistance program or EAP has money available to help people pay for home heating, water costs and furnace repairs. The EAP grants are for income-qualified households.
EAP is a federally funded program and the grants range from 3-hundred dollars to 2-thousand dollars which are paid directly to energy providers and utility companies.
Grants are available to both renters and homeowners. Applications ask about household size and income.
To apply for this grant…. Find your EAP provider by calling 1-800-657-3710… that’s 1-800-657-3710
Or search for Energy Assistance Program on the MN dot gov website.
Marie Rock for the Minnesota Native News Health Report
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