Health care providers in Minnesota have thrown out 2,225,642 COVID-19 vaccine doses, according to information provided by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). In total, these vaccines were worth roughly $185 million, though the actual figure may vary due to the complex vaccine pricing system.
From 2020 through 2023, more than 11.8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses were ordered by the state. Paid for by the federal government, these doses were predominately Pfizer and Moderna injections. During this multi-year period, more than two million vaccine doses were determined to be “non-viable” by the health care providers who administered the injections.
Specifically, MDH defines a “non-viable” vaccine as one where the dose either expired, was not used, was outside the proper temperature range, or the vial broke. A non-viable vaccine “cannot be used for any reason,” MDH said.
As such, a significant margin of the COVID-19 vaccine doses ordered by the State of Minnesota were thrown away. COVID-19 vaccines, such as those produced by Pfizer and Moderna, require multiple doses.
A CDC pricing chart shows that one dose of an adult Pfizer vaccine costs $85.10; an adult Moderna dose costs $81.61. As such, nearly $1 billion worth of federal taxpayer money was spent sending COVID-19 vaccines to Minnesota. Given the number of “non-viable” doses and the pricing charts provided by MDH, roughly $185 million worth of vaccine doses have been thrown away.
The State of Minnesota did not pay for any COVID-19 vaccines from 2020 to September 2023. However, the COVID-19 vaccine was commercialized in September 2023 and the State of Minnesota has purchased some COVID-19 vaccine doses since then. In total, the State of Minnesota has spent over $1.2 million on COVID-19 vaccines for uninsured Minnesotans since September of last year.
Throughout the course of the pandemic, the federal government spent trillions of dollars it did not have. Just months before the pandemic, the national debt was roughly $22 trillion. Today, the national debt is over $34 trillion. As a result, the country has experienced a chronic, record-breaking inflation crisis.
In addition to the 11.8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses that were ordered by the State of Minnesota, health care providers placed orders for vaccine doses themselves. In total, Minnesota health care providers have administered over 13 million individual doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from 2020 through 2023.
According to U.S. News and World Report data from December 2022, Minnesota had one of the higher vaccination rates amongst the 50 states; 71.7% of all Minnesotans were considered “fully vaccinated” at that time. However, the definition of “fully vaccinated” has changed as the government pushes new injections created by pharmaceutical companies.
According to MDH, roughly 19.5% of all Minnesotans are considered “up to date” on their COVID-19 vaccination. In this case, “up to date” means an individual who has received a 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine.
Of Minnesota’s 87 counties, Olmsted County and Cook County have the highest “up to date” vaccination rate at 31.4%. Meanwhile, other counties such as Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, Washington, St. Louis, Lake, and Carlton are floating between 20% and 24%. No other county is at 20%.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
