STATE WARNS: BE PATIENT
As vaccine eligibility expands, officials say it could take weeks to get an appointment
As about 600,000 more people can start registering Monday for the COVID vaccine, state officials are urging patience but remain optimistic everyone eligible will get an appointment within the next three weeks.
Starting Monday, those age 55 to 64, along with teachers, school workers and child care professionals, will be eligible to receive the vaccine, but appointments will not be immediately available for
everyone.
Josh Geballe, Gov. Ned Lamont’s chief operating officer, said given Connecticut’s increasing vaccine supply, the state believes most will get vaccinated within the next several weeks.
“We are expecting a lot of the newly eligible people to rush out (Monday) to book an appointment . ... People should be prepared to be patient, but know they will get their turn within the next couple of weeks,” Geballe said Sunday.
For those newly eligible on Monday, state officials are asking they wait a few days to make appointments to ensure those most in need can get inoculated.
The next stages of the rollout comes as Connecticut continues to receive encouraging news about the vaccine supply. State officials said about 100,000 first doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be shipped to Connecticut this week along with 40,000 doses of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine — 10,000 more than anticipated.
Unlike Moderna and Pfizer, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires one dose, meaning some people will finish their inoculation process quicker.
The state has confidence in the new vaccine, which experts say has shown clear success in preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19. The state has instructed providers to designate which vaccine will be provided during the sign-up process.
“We encourage everyone to take the first vaccine that comes available to them,” Geballe said.
Lamont announced last week a shift in the state’s vaccinate rollout strategy, prioritizing people by age group instead of focusing on essential workers and those with high-risk medical conditions. The move, his administration argued, will simplify a complicated process and will speed up distribution.
The state estimates the new groups that will be eligible Monday comprise around 610,000 people in total, not counting those who were vaccinated through early phases of the rollout.
Despite the new groups’ eligibility, state officials said those who are age 65 and older can and will get vaccinated in the coming weeks. As of last week, state data showed about 75 percent of those age 75 and older had been vaccinated and about half of those age 65 to 74 had received the vaccine.
Anticipating the rush of people who will be eligible starting Monday, the state’s appointment phone line is doubling its staff to 300.
“We anticipate that our online scheduling systems and the Vaccine Appointment Assist Line will be inundated (Monday), and for the next several days with people eager to make their vaccine appointments. It’s a good problem to have, and we have increased our capacity to better handle the anticipated surge in volume, but it will still require people to be patient when signing up,” Acting Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford said. “To ease the burden on the online and phone systems, we urge residents 55 and older to consider waiting a few days before seeking an appointment if they are able to do so.”
Residents who prefer to make an appointment by phone can call 877-918-2224.
Geballe said despite increased staffing, people could expect busy signals on Monday, but reiterated that they will soon get appointments.
Though eligibility officially opens at midnight, the state has asked providers to have their websites updated by 7 a.m. Monday.
Some vaccine sites require residents to prove they are eligible. RVNA Health in Ridgefield has a notice on its website instructing those who are 55 and up to bring documentation, such as an ID, showing their date of birth. Those eligible through their job should bring a paystub, employee ID, letter or other documentation, the notice said.
While school employees and teachers will be eligible starting Monday, state officials are asking them to wait for vaccine clinics to be scheduled at schools and local health departments.
Most of those will likely open later in the month, according to a memo from DPH.
“Individual school districts are working with their towns and local health departments/districts to work out a plan for their teachers, schools staffs and child care workers. So, the vaccination plan is going to look different from town to town and district to district,” said Maura Fitzgerald, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Health.
She said the agency will make sure every local health department, or other provider selected by school and local officials “has sufficient supply of vaccine in order to offer clinics throughout the month of March.”
Geballe said the state has asked these clinics to keep an updated “standby” list of those eligible in the area in case extra doses are available.
How local health departments will handle the vaccine distribution will vary by community, Geballe said. While some may focus only on teachers, school workers and child care professionals, some will continue vaccinating the general population as well.
The departments are coordinating with the state, which will ensure a provider is available if the local health department focuses on educators.
“They are all coordinating closely with the state while that’s happening so we don’t lose any momentum on the general vaccine program for those 55 and above,” Geballe said.