CT Accelerated Coronavirus Vaccine Eligibility: What To Know

CONNECTICUT — The coronavirus vaccine supply will outpace demand sooner than expected after the federal government projected Connecticut will soon receive 200,000 doses weekly, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday.

Lamont accelerated the state’s age-based vaccine eligibility plan by a month; everyone 16 and over is projected to be eligible to begin making appointments on April 5.

Here are some answers to questions about the acceleration and why it happened:

When will the vaccine be available to anyone who wants a dose?

“By the time we get to the end of April, early May, most everyone in Connecticut who’s eager to get access and get vaccinated should have that opportunity,” said state Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe at a news conference.

There are around 477,000 residents between 45 and 54 in Connecticut. The state assumes around 60 percent of people in that age group will want the vaccine soon after they are eligible, Geballe said. Around 85,000 people in that age bracket have already been vaccinated because they were health care workers, teachers or other people who previously qualified as a priority group.

That leaves about 200,000 people in the age bracket who will want the vaccine soon after they are eligible. At the state’s current pace, it will take about a week and a half to two weeks to vaccinate them with one dose.

What is the new tentative schedule, and how has it changed?

People between the ages of 45 and 54 can begin making appointments March 19 instead of March 22.

People between the ages of 35 and 44 were originally scheduled for April 12 and people between 16 and 34 were due around May 3, but both those groups are being combined for a projected April 5 date.

What about people with high-risk medical conditions?

The state will work with vaccine providers to prioritize people who have serious medical conditions come April 5. More details will be announced as the state gets closer to the date.

Is there capacity to administer vaccine doses?

Yes. Many sites around the state are already set up for more vaccine appointments than they are currently able to administer since doses are the main bottleneck, Geballe said.

“I commonly hear from people who go get vaccinated at some of these large vaccination sites, they say, ‘It looks like they can be doing a lot more than they’re doing, they’ve got a lot of extra chairs,'” he said. “The answer is yes they do, they’re ready to go.”

What happens after the eager get vaccinated?

The state will increase its outreach efforts to convince more people to get vaccinated.

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How many people have been vaccinated so far in Connecticut?

More than 918,000 first doses have been administered and nearly 500,000 people have been fully vaccinated, according to the state Department of Public Health.

These are the percentages of people in age groups who have been vaccinated so far:

• 77 percent of people 75 and older
• 71 percent of people between 65 and 74
• 40 percent of people between 55 and 64