Shots for all adults by May? That’s the state’s target.
‘We’re really cranking right now’: State ranks in top five nationally with 30% of adult population receiving at least one vaccine dose, including 75% of those 75 or older
Connecticut remains on track to have all adults eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination by early May, Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday, as vaccine supply gradually continues to increase. Still, white residents and those in suburban and rural areas remain disproportionately likely to have received a vaccine, amid a strategy that prioritizes eligibility almost strictly by age. Here is the latest on Connecticut’s rollout.
Where does Connecticut rank in vaccinations? As of Monday afternoon, about 30% of Connecticut adults and nearly 25% of all residents had received at least one vaccine dose, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease and Prevention.
About 12% of adults and morethan9% ofall residents have received both their required doses.
Connecticut ranks in the top five among U.S. states in the share of its population having received at least one dose — along with New Mexico, Alaska, South Dakota and North Dakota — and stands seventh in the percentage of its vaccine allotment that it has successful administered.
Due to the way Connecticut has prioritized vaccine eligibility, the vast majority of doses have gone to older residents. Lamont said Monday that 75% of residents 75 and older had been vaccinated, along with 64% of residents age 65-to-74 and 25% of those 55-to-64.
Josh Geballe, the state’s chief operating officer, said Connecticut set a new high last Friday with more than 35,000 people vaccinated in a single day.
“We’re really cranking right now,” Geballe said.
Where does the state stand in terms of vaccine equity?
Connecticut, like other states, has experienced extreme disparities in vaccine distribution.
As of March 1, white residents over age 65 were significantly more likely than Black, Hispanic and Asian residents in that age group to have received at least one vaccine dose, according to state numbers released Thursday.
Officials warn that the data is spotty and inconsistent, but even then, the gap is stark: about 55% of white residents 65 or older had been vaccinated as of March 1, compared to 41% of Asian residents, 37% of Hispanic residents and 34% of Black residents in that group.
Meanwhile, Connecticut’s cities continue to lag suburban and rural minimalities in vaccination rates, with Hartford and Bridgeport ranking last out of 169 towns and cities in vaccine coverage.
Critics have accused Lamont of undermining vaccine equity by establishing eligibility by age, with a special exception for teachers, instead of prioritizing people with underlying conditions, essential workers or residents of high-risk neighborhoods. They note that the group of people currently eligible for vaccination is notably more white than the population as a whole.
The Lamont administration has countered that a simple, age-based distribution process will mitigate disparities in information, technology, transportation and connections that might contribute to inequity. They also note that vaccine providers are encouraged to direct doses to towns and cities with high rates of poverty and low access to transportation.
What kind of vaccine supply is the state receiving? How has that increased?
Lamont said Connecticut received 139,000 first doses of vaccine this, all of which came from either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. That figure it down from last week, when the state took in a large shipment of Johnson& Johnson doses, but about three times what it typically received earlier in its vaccine rollout.
Officials do not expect to receive more Johnson & Johnson doses until late March but say Connecticut continues to see increased shipments from the other two companies.
At a press briefing with Lamont on Monday, Sen. Chris Murphy predicted a large increase in vaccine supply in the springtime, as Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson all increase production. At that point, he said, Connecticut will move “from a position of scarcity to a position of abundance.”
President Joe Biden has promised enough vaccine supply for all American adults by the end of May.
Eric Arlia, senior director of pharmacy at Hartford HealthCare, said the system had received 12,600 first doses this week, 5,800 of which were specifically earmarked for teachers. That total was down from last week but up from previous weeks, and Arlia said he expects that a large boost is coming.
“One of these days it’s going to go up significantly,” Arlia said. “The best thing we can do is plan out our appointments with our base allocation and be ready at a moment’ s notice for a significant increase in vaccine supply. Because if the president’s plan is going to come to fruition, a day is going to come when I’m going to get a phone call and they’re going to be like ‘We have 35,000 doses of vaccine for you.’ ”
Is Connecticut on track to meet its ambitious vaccination goals? La mont has promised that all Connecticut residents age 45 and older will be eligible for vaccination March 22, that residents 35 and older will be eligible April 12, that all adults will be eligible by May 3 and that all who want a vaccine will be able to receive one not long after that.
With production increasing, the governor said Monday that the state remains well-positioned to meet these targets— oreven to beat them.
“They’re ramping up significantly,” Lamont said. “We’re going to have a lot more J&J slated. They’ve doubled the order of both Moderna and Pfizer. So I think we’ re on schedule and we could be ahead of schedule .”
How can I sign up? All residents age 55 and older are currently eligible to sign upfor vaccination.
They can do so through the state’s system at ct.gov/covidvaccine, through Hartford HealthCare at hartfordhealthcare.org/health-wellness/covidvaccine, through Yale New Haven Health at https://www.ynhhs.org/patientcare/covid-19/vaccine/ or through UConn Health at https://health.uconn.edu/coronavirus/covid-vaccine/.
Those seeking vaccination can also schedule an appointment by phone through the state’s hotline at 877-918-2224.
Vaccine locations, including small clinics as well as large “mega-sites,” are spread across Connecticut.