Connecticut will now determine COVID-19 vaccination priority by age, with the exception of school employees.
Residents of the state, aged 55 and above, will be eligible for vaccination starting next Monday. Village. Ned Lamont.
The trick flies Federal guidance From the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as Lamont’s Own consultant, Who recommend giving priority to people with health conditions.
Under the new rules, residents between 45 and 54 can get their first shots starting March 26. It extends to Connecticut between 35 and 44 on 12 April and 16 to 34 on 3 May.
Teachers and school staff of all ages will also be eligible in March.
“In an ideal world, we have enough doses of vaccine to receive all 3.6 million people in Connecticut right now, although each state is being given a very limited supply, which is why we should take this phased approach, “Said Lamont.
“My goal is to get more people vaccinated as soon as possible, and I believe this is the best way to meet that challenge.”
in Press conference On Monday, Lamont said the new plan would allow the state to continue dosing at some of the fastest speeds in the country, while reducing the complications that Lamont has with a long and incomplete list of qualifying medical conditions.
Sixteen percent of Connecticut residents have received at least one dose, becoming the fifth best-performing state in the union when administering the vaccination, According to CDC. The national average is 13 percent.
“I started thinking about what worked so far,” Lamont said at the news conference. “We found a close relationship between age and risk.”
“Keep it simple, silly,” Lamont said. “A lot of complications result from states that try to fine-tune the salute and it is very complex.”
When asked by reporters whether the new policy sidesteps public opinion and experts’ advice, one of the co-chairs of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine advisory group said they felt the method was actually so well Will work, it will be copied by other states soon.
“I am comfortable that we have well represented the opinions of the people of the community that we can, there is no precise answer,” Dr. Reginald Eddy said.
Officials also announced that they hoped the distribution would be more equitable.
Analyzed by data Hartford court The beginning of February suggested a steep racial divide in the distribution of vaccines.
LaMont said child care workers, 45 percent of whom are minorities, would be joined with teachers and brought to the front of the line under the new rules.
Doses will also be set aside for communities with high social vulnerability indices, and officials said providers will have access to those communities.
“Not only do we want to see you working in those communities, we want to see the food that goes into those communities that live in those communities. And those are two different things, ”Acting Public Health Commissioner Dr. Didre Gifford told vaccine providers.
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