Name: Connecticut might add residents aged 65+, those with high-risk conditions, to next phase of COVID-19 vaccinations; state to receive thousands of additional doses
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Connecticut might add residents aged 65+, those with high-risk conditions, to next phase of COVID-19 vaccinations; state to receive thousands of additional doses

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AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantJan 12, 2021 at 3:30 pmHundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents may soon be added to the state’s Phase 1B of vaccinations, which is slated to begin next week.On Tuesday afternoon, a subcommittee of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Group recommended that the upcoming phase be expanded to include residents who are 65 and older and residents who have at least one health condition that places them at high risk of COVID-19.AdvertisementThe decision came as the Trump administration , urging states to expand vaccinations and announcing that it would release all available doses. The federal Department of Health and Human Services has also informed the state that Connecticut will be getting thousands of additional doses of vaccine, Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday.Lamont said he was called by HHS Secretary Alex Azar on Tuesday, who told him that “we’re singling out Connecticut for the good work you’ve done on vaccinations. You’re going to be one of one or two states that’s going to get an extra dose of vaccines starting this week in the tens of thousands because you have shown you can put to work faster to keep people safe.’ ”AdvertisementConnecticut’s vaccine advisory group subcommittee said that its vaccine recommendation would only include the 12 conditions currently designated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. , which is subject to change, includes conditions such as cancer and diabetes, but not conditions such as asthma.The subcommittee’s recommendation will now move to the larger COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Group and then on to Lamont for final approval.Currently, the governor has tentatively approved a smaller Phase 1B, which includes about 850,000 Connecticut residents, based on estimates from the state. If the governor eventually approves the expansion, then Phase 1B would nearly double in size to about 1.55 million Connecticut residents. The expanded Phase 1B would include:The recommended expansion won’t come without hiccups.Several subcommittee members on Tuesday raised concerns that an expanded Phase 1B could become unwieldy and chaotic.“I’m afraid that the supply will not meet the demand if we make the group too large,” said Raymond Sullivan, the health director for the town of Brookfield.AdvertisementIn recent days, before news of the expected CDC instruction to expand Phase 1B, Lamont has also publicly worried about adding too many people into the next phase of vaccinations.“Adding more groups just means other people get pushed to the back of the line,” Lamont said at a Monday afternoon press briefing. “If everybody’s a priority, then no one’s a priority.”As it happensGet the latest updates on Coronavirus and other breaking news events happening across Connecticut &gt; To ease that potential chaos, subcommittee co-chair Nichelle Mullins suggested including in the recommendation that the state should not open vaccinations to everyone in Phase 1B at the same time.Mullins instead suggested a “phased” approach, which would further stratify and space out the various subgroups. The subcommittee incorporated that suggestion into its recommendation.The state’s acting public health commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford, who is also co-chair of the state’s vaccine advisory group, said at Tuesday’s meeting that the next vaccination phase will take a considerable amount of time.The state plans to begin vaccinating those who are 75 and older on Jan. 18, with the other subgroups not becoming eligible until later in the phase.Advertisement“We will not be able to get everyone a vaccine the very first week of Phase 1B. We are going to be asking for forbearance and patience from the public,” Gifford said. “Patience will be required as we go through this next phase, which is much larger.”Emily Brindley can be reached at .Courant Staff Writer Stephen Singer contributed to this story. Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantJan 12, 2021 at 3:30 pmHundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents may soon be added to the state’s Phase 1B of vaccinations, which is slated to begin next week.On Tuesday afternoon, a subcommittee of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Group recommended that the upcoming phase be expanded to include residents who are 65 and older and residents who have at least one health condition that places them at high risk of COVID-19.AdvertisementThe decision came as the Trump administration , urging states to expand vaccinations and announcing that it would...

Connecticut might add residents aged 65+, those with high-risk conditions, to next phase of COVID-19 vaccinations; state to receive thousands of additional doses

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