Starting on Monday, people 55 and older and educators can start making appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Connecticut.
Connecticut residents and child care providers and educators and employees aged 55 and above are now eligible for the vaccine in Connecticut.
Health professionals, medical first responders, residents and employees of long-term care facilities were already eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in the state.
Eligible educators and childcare providers include teachers from pre-school to 12th grade, paraprofessionals, custodians, food service providers, school bus drivers and childcare providers, as well as administrative staff at the school.
This does not include individuals who are not required to work in schools.
Governor Ned Lamont said he expects Connecticut to receive 30,000 one-shot COVID-19 vaccines from Johnson & Johnson by Tuesday, March 2.
The announcement comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the emergency use of the vaccine on Saturday.
The Johnson & Johnson shot is now the third with emergency clearance to combat COVID-19 in the U.S.
The 30,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be in addition to the typical doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines supplied to the state for use. This would increase the state’s total vaccine allocation per week to 130,000.
The governor notes that the J&J authorization fired about a year after the start of the pandemic “is not only remarkable progress, but another tool to help us defeat the coronavirus quickly”.
How to get an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine in Connecticut
By phone: Call the Connecticut Vaccine Scheduling Helpline at 877-918-2224, seven days a week, from 8 am to 8 pm, for scheduling at selected locations.
Connected: Schedule a COVID-19 vaccination appointment at VAMS, the Vaccine Administration Management System.
- Fill out the form to inform the Department of Public Health that you are interested in creating a VAMS account. If you are currently eligible to receive the vaccine, you must receive an email from VAMS to complete your registration within 12 hours. Click here to create an account.
- Check for an email from [email protected]. Click the link in the email and create your account. You will be asked to retrieve a code that will be sent to you. You will need to create a password and store it in a safe place.
- If you have forgotten your password, the “forgot password” link on the login page can only be used if you have created a password as part of your VAMS registration.
- Complete your VAMS registration.
- The first question that will be asked at VAMS is “Have you registered as a recipient of the vaccine at VAMS yet?” The answer to this question is no. “
- Questions with a red asterisk are mandatory.
- Insurance information does not need to be entered.
- You will be asked to share some additional information about yourself.
- In order for VAMS to recognize your chosen running option, click on your choice in the box on the left and click on the arrow pointing to the right to move your choice to the box on the right.
- Use your zip code to search for VAMS clinics near you.
- The system will automatically search for clinics within a 16 km radius of your zip code, but you can choose up to 160 km from the drop-down menu, which can provide more clinic locations in your search results.
- You may need to check multiple locations in the clinic to find an available appointment. Find a suitable time for you and make your appointment.
There were times during the pandemic when Bradley airport was extraordinarily quiet and people avoided traveling. Now, however, it seems that some people are starting to get more comfortable with travel and may be ready to escape the cold.