State expands inoculations

Residents 16 and older will be eligible for COVID19 vaccinations in Alabama on Monday, expanding an immunization program that ranks last in the nation.

The expansion means about 4 million of the state’s 4.9 million residents will be eligible for shots.

The state is currently receiving 115,000 first doses weekly, according to the governor’s office. More than 1.1 million people have received at least one vaccine dose in Alabama, and more than 660,000 are fully vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics indicate Alabama ranks last in the nation for oneshot vaccinations (24.7%), with neighboring Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee only slightly better.

More than 10,600 people have died from the coronavirus in Alabama, which has reported 516,000 cases.