Name: When will Connecticut residents receive the COVID-19 vaccine? Here’s what we know now
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When will Connecticut residents receive the COVID-19 vaccine? Here’s what we know now

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AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantDec 03, 2020 at 5:44 pmWith the U.S. Food and Drug Administration potentially just days away from authorizing the first COVID-19 vaccine, some Connecticut residents could receive the first doses of a vaccine by mid-December.Once a vaccine is authorized by the federal government, doses will be shipped to the states, which are in charge of actually distributing the vaccine to residents.AdvertisementFor the most part, states will make their own decisions about which groups of residents to vaccinate first, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is issuing recommendations on the vaccination order.That means that some Connecticut residents could be vaccinated within weeks, although many people will have to wait another six or seven months.AdvertisementBy early fall, the state hopes to have vaccinated every residents who wants to receive a vaccine.The United Kingdom on Wednesday announced that it had approved for use a vaccine created by Pfizer-BioNTech, which is also a front-runner in the U.S.But in the U.S., the vaccine hasn’t been authorized yet.Independent advisers to the FDA will meet to discuss the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Dec. 10 and the Moderna vaccine on Dec. 17.At those meetings, , the advisers will debate the vaccines and ultimately issue a recommendation on whether they should be authorized for use, according to .In the days after each meeting, the FDA will then make a decision, based in part on those recommendations, and either issue or deny an emergency use authorization.With this timeline, the Pfizer vaccine could receive authorization by early to mid-December and the Moderna vaccine by mid- to late December.Notably, an emergency use authorization is not the same as full FDA approval. Emergency use authorization is a less robust process, designed to more quickly grant use of much-needed medicines and technologies.AdvertisementNearly all of the current COVID-19 treatments and tests are being used under emergency use authorization, not full FDA approval.Lamont said during a Monday press briefing that he expects Connecticut to receive its first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine in mid-December.“We are going to get it before the end of the year, the middle of December, Dec. 14 is the date they are hoping for for Pfizer,” Lamont said.That date aligns with some federal officials’ comments in recent days, although the message hasn’t always been consistent.At a Nov. 19 briefing, for instance, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci said states would be able to begin vaccinations by the end of December. But at the same briefing, Gen. Gustave Perna, who oversees logistics for Operation Warp Speed, said doses would be shipped out within 24 hours of FDA authorization — which is expected in mid-December.On Monday, Lamont said that Connecticut expects to receive 20,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine in the initial shipment mid-December shipment, plus an additional 20,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine about a week later. Both of those vaccines require two doses, spaced several weeks apart, in order to be effective.AdvertisementLamont spokesperson Max Reiss said Wednesday that the governor’s administration is anticipating receiving a total of 100,000 doses of the two vaccines by the end of the year.At a Thursday press briefing, Lamont announced that the first wave of vaccinations will go to health care workers, nursing home residents and emergency medical responders. Those first wave of vaccinations — called Phase 1A — will likely begin in mid-December and are expected to continue through approximately Jan. 25, Lamont said.The governor on Thursday did not go into specifics of who is included under the categories of health care workers and emergency medical responders. However, state officials said the first wave will include a range of health care workers, with those directly exposed to the coronavirus placed at the highest priority.AdvertisementAt a Thursday press briefing, Lamont and Acting Public Health Commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford laid out a rough timeline of the state’s vaccine distribution plan after the first wave of vaccinations are complete.In Phase 1B, which will begin in late January and last until late May, the state will vaccinate:Gifford acknowledged that this phase includes a massive number of people, and said the state has not yet determined the order in which these groups will be vaccinated.“Some of the categories that we’ve mentioned this afternoon are very broad, and there’s much more to come in terms of further stratification,” Gifford said Thursday.On Thursday, Lamont said the general public — that is, everyone who does not fall into the Phase 1A or Phase 1B categories — will begin receiving vaccinations in early June.Gifford added that the state hopes to have vaccinated everyone who wishes to be vaccinated by early fall 2021.AdvertisementAs it happensGet the latest updates on Coronavirus and other breaking news events happening across Connecticut &gt; “We are hopeful that by the early fall, we will have everybody who wants to be vaccinated to have received the vaccine, both doses,” Gifford said Thursday. Those predictions fall in line with comments made Tuesday by Hartford HealthCare’s chief clinical officer, Dr. Ajay Kumar.“We’re looking at some time in May or June when we will have enough supply to vaccinate all who require vaccines,” Kumar said. “And after that obviously we will continue that vaccination process for some time.”Kumar noted that his estimates include the assumption that some additional vaccines are authorized after the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.That timeline is an estimate, and may change as more information on the vaccines becomes available.This story was updated Thursday evening, after state officials released additional information.AdvertisementEmily Brindley can be reached at . Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantDec 03, 2020 at 5:44 pmWith the U.S. Food and Drug Administration potentially just days away from authorizing the first COVID-19 vaccine, some Connecticut residents could receive the first doses of a vaccine by mid-December.Once a vaccine is authorized by the federal government, doses will be shipped to the states, which are in charge of actually distributing the vaccine to residents.AdvertisementFor the most part, states will make their own decisions about which groups of residents to vaccinate first, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

When will Connecticut residents receive the COVID-19 vaccine? Here’s what we know now

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