Connecticut residents age 16 and older will be able to sign up for their COVID-19 vaccines starting on April 5 — about a month earlier than even planned, Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday.
Lamont said the Biden administration recently told the state to expect a “significant’’ boost in its number of doses in the next few weeks, helping to pave the way for the move.
“This allotment, combined with our state’s strong execution over the past several weeks, allows Connecticut to significantly accelerate the schedule so that we can equitably and efficiently vaccinate as many residents as possible,” the governor said in a statement.
The state currently only allows residents age 55 and older — as well as health-care workers, nursing-home employees and teachers — to get vaccinated.
Connecticut officials had planned to let residents age 45 and older get their shots starting March 22, although now that group has been moved up a few days, to March 19.
Those age 35 and older were supposed to be eligible starting April 12, while the 16 and older set were to begin getting immunized May 3 — two groups that now move to April 5.
At least two states, Alaska and Arkansas, already allow residents age 16 and older to be vaccinated.
New York currently allows residents 60 and older to get their shots, as well as groups deemed essential workers and vulnerable.
