NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Without nearly enough COVID-19 vaccines arriving for everyone eligible to receive them, Connecticut will prioritize its oldest residents for the first shots, Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday.
Under a new tiered approach, the governor said people over 75 can schedule vaccinations now, to be followed likely in early February by people between the ages of 65 and 74. It will likely be late February or early March before they can be scheduled for frontline essential workers and people with medical conditions that increase their risk of severe illness from the virus.
Some 1.4 million people in Connecticut are technically eligible for vaccines under Phase 1B but Lamont, a Democrat, said the state is scheduled to receive only about 45,000 doses of the vaccine weekly.
The Department of Public Health on Tuesday notified school districts, local health departments, and vaccine providers that vaccination appointments for Friday or later should be canceled unless they are for people over the age of 75 or who were eligible to receive the vaccine as part of Phase 1A.
"In order to vaccinate our 75 plus residents as quickly as possible so that we can move on to the other groups within 1b, it is critical that we focus on getting shots in the arms of those elderly and most vulnerable residents," acting Public Health Commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford said.
