Minnesota has reached two very different milestones in the COVID-19 pandemic, reporting on Thursday that more than 500,000 people have suffered known infections and more than 2 million doses of vaccine have been administered.

The notable figures come as state health officials assess a slight uptick in COVID-19 activity in Minnesota, despite more than 23% of people receiving vaccine against the infectious disease. That includes 77% of senior citizens, who have suffered 89% of Minnesota’s 6,762 COVID-19 deaths. The total includes six deaths reported Thursday.

“Hope is on the horizon,” Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement regarding the vaccine milestone, despite being quarantined himself until March 25 due to a viral exposure.

“We look forward to celebrating these remarkable milestones at an increasing pace this spring as vaccine supply continues to grow,” he added.

The emergence of more infectious variants of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 appears to be fueling some increase in pandemic activity despite the vaccination progress. The positivity rate of diagnostic testing had dropped from a peak of 15.4% on Nov. 9 to 3.3% on March 3 before rising back to 4.1%.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Minnesota also have increased — with hospitals reporting a doubling of cases requiring intensive care from 37 on March 6 to 74 on Wednesday. However, the hospital figure remains below the peak of 399 COVID-19 ICU hospitalizations on Dec. 1.

The latest weekly COVID-19 activity report from the Minnesota Department of Health showed continued increase in diagnosed infections among K-12 schoolchildren. More than 600 diagnosed infections in K-12 students and staff were detected in the seven-day period ending March 13, compared with a weekly tally of 400 in the week ending Feb. 14.

Heightened testing of K-12 students is somewhat responsible for the increase and the detection in some cases of asymptomatic infections that might not have otherwise been found. However, both the rate of testing and positivity has increased in the 10 to 19 age group in Minnesota, suggesting an actual increase in viral transmission.

All K-12 students are encouraged to seek weekly testing while young athletes are encouraged to seek testing once a week or three days before any competition.

Severe COVID-19 remains rare among children and young adults. Of the 501,458 known infections across all age groups, 485,358 have recovered to the point they are no longer considered transmission risks to others.

Minnesota’s total infection count only includes those detected through diagnostic testing. Health officials have estimated that anywhere from 20 to 30% of Minnesotans have actually been infected over the past year, when accounting for asymptomatic or untested cases. That means the actual count could be 1.5 million or more.

The six deaths reported Thursday include four people 65 or older and two residents of long-term care facilities.

Friday is the anniversary of Minnesota’s first COVID-19 death — an 88-year-old St. Paul resident who had been in contact with relatives who had traveled outside the country.

Vaccine for now is prioritized for seniors and long-term care residents due to their elevated risks of severe COVID-19, along with health care workers, educators and non-elderly adults with certain underlying health conditions or high-risk occupations.

The state’s tally includes 1,303,210 people who have received shots, and 764,275 who have completed the series of either two doses of Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Jeremy Olson • 612-673-7744