CARSON CITY – With vaccine production and availability accelerating across the country, Nevada will significantly expand who is eligible to receive an injection.
All Nevadans aged 16 and over will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine from April 5, while those of the same age group with underlying medical conditions can get the vaccine as early as next week, Governor Steve Sisolak announced Wednesday. market.
“This vaccination campaign is essential to get our country and state back to normal, so that we can all embrace our families, continue to bring snowmen back to work, go to restaurants, send our children to school, play sports and get together again ”. Sisolak said.
“The end is in sight, Nevada – we can do that,” added the governor.
The plan to increase who can get a vaccine puts Nevada ahead of pressure from President Joe Biden for states to make vaccines available to all residents by May 1 and will see Nevada among a small group of states to announce such widespread eligibility early in the year. next month.
Sisolak emphasized that, although eligibility starts from April 5, that does not mean that everyone will be able to schedule an appointment immediately.
“The availability of the vaccine and the appointments will still depend on the allocation of doses that we receive from the federal government,” said Sisolak.
The governor said more information about where and how to access vaccine appointments will arrive “in the coming days and weeks”.
Sisolak said the move will not force the state to drastically change its vaccine manual, which describes levels and routes and prioritized initial doses for frontline officials, the elderly, police, teachers and others.
“Many aspects of the booklet will remain in place and the hard work of this team, and of so many others in the state, will continue during this process, including the focus on equity and access,” said Sisolak.
Candice McDaniel, who is leading the state’s vaccination efforts, added that there will continue to be “a very targeted reach to communities that are disproportionately affected”, even if eligibility extends to the general public.
On Wednesday, the only states that opened vaccination to all 16-year-old residents are Mississippi and Alaska. And the Connecticut governor announced this week that residents aged 16 to 44 will be eligible from April 5.
More than 360,000 Nevadans, or about 11.4 percent of the state’s population, were fully vaccinated by Wednesday, according to data from the state’s response site COVID-19. Another 640,000 initial doses were administered.
“We started vaccines for more than 25% of our eligible population. Therefore, we are making incredible inroads in the distribution of the vaccine, ”said Sisolak.
After the announcement, retail and hospitality groups in Nevada asked workers to schedule vaccination appointments as soon as possible.
“Vaccinating our restaurant and hotel staff is a critical step towards fully reopening Nevada’s economy,” said Alexandria Dazlich, director of government affairs for the Nevada Restaurant Association, in a statement.
Contact the head of the Capital Bureau Colton Lochhead at [email protected]. follow @ColtonLochhead on twitter.