COVID

Connecticut to open vaccine eligibility to everyone over the age of 16 on April 5

The plans come after President Joe Biden's administration told the state that it should get a “significant" increase in vaccine doses over the next several weeks.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont waits his turn to speak Sunday at a Covid-19 community vaccination clinic in Stamford John Moore / Getty Images

By SUSAN HAIGH, Associated Press

March 15, 2021

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Connecticut plans to speed up the next age-based phase of its COVID-19 vaccination rollout by a few days and ultimately allow everyone else, age 16 and older, to begin making their appointments for a shot tentatively on April 5, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday.

Meanwhile, state plans to work with health care providers and the Department of Developmental Services to accelerate access for the most medically high-risk individuals under age 45 during April.

“We’re having them work directly with their patients,” Max Reiss, Lamont’s communications director, told The Associated Press.

The state’s plans to speed up the vaccination rollout comes as President Joe Biden’s administration has informed the state that it should be receiving a “significant” increase in vaccine doses over the next several weeks from the three-approved companies. Currently, the state is receiving roughly 139,000 to 150,000 doses a week, a figure that is anticipated to climb to about 200,000 doses a week by early April.

BREAKING: As the state is anticipating to receive an increased supply of COVID-19 vaccines over the coming weeks, we are accelerating Connecticut’s age-based rollout to proceed on quicker schedule than originally planned. 💉

🔗https://t.co/yE5FHqlAKK pic.twitter.com/QPVB8NUTFj

— Governor Ned Lamont (@GovNedLamont) March 15, 2021

“This allotment, combined with our state’s strong execution over the past several weeks, allows Connecticut to significantly accelerate the schedule so that we can equitably and efficiently vaccinate as many residents as possible,” Lamont said in a statement, noting it’s “still going to take some time to get the vaccine to everyone who wants it” and urged people to remain patient.

Currently, everyone age 55 and older, health care personnel, medical first responders, residents and staff at long-term care facilities and select congregate settings, and pre-K-12 school staff and professional childcare providers are allowed to get the shot. Under this latest revised plan, individuals age 45 to 54 will be able to begin making their appointments on March 19, instead of March 22, as originally planned.

Connecticut had also previously planned to allow people age 35 years and older to begin getting vaccinations on April 12 and everyone age 16 and older on May 3.