A year on from Minnesota's first COVID case, Walz says the end is in sight 'By this summer every Minnesotan gets a shot,' Walz says. Author: Gov. Tim Walz As Minnesota marks a year since the state's first patient presented with COVID-19 symptoms, Gov. Tim Walz exemplified the increasing optimism that the worst is over and the end is in sight. Announcing his administration's next phase in the vaccine rollout, the governor told Minnesotans: "The end is in sight. We can finish this, we can do it the right way." Since the pandemic broke, Minnesota has seen 6,450 deaths, 25,500 hospitalizations, and just under 500,000 cases of COVID-19, but the release of effective vaccines by the likes of Pfizer, Moderna, and soon-to-be-released Johnson & Johnson has renewed hope that life can soon return to relative normality after a turbulent 2020.