Connecticut started vaccination for COVID-19 in mid-December and the second phase, phase 1b, has started. Residents aged 75 and over can apply to be vaccinated and enrollment will start soon for essential frontline workers, individuals aged 65 to 74, people aged 16 to 64 with comorbidities and Connecticut residents and employees in congregation settings.
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Who is in Phase 1b in CT?
Phase 1b will include approximately 1.3 million Connecticut residents and several primary groups will be eligible for the Phase 1b vaccine, which is expected to start this month:
Scheduling now
Scheduling soon
- Essential frontline workers
- Education and childcare
- Rescuers and public safety
- Transport
- Direct service social services
- Food and groceries
- Agricultural and farm
- Manufacturing
- Residents in congregated environments and employees
- Resident aged 65 to 74
- Residents aged 16 to 64 in high-risk conditions
The state said the main factors in determining who will be next are based on the risk of serious illness or death and combating disparities and inequities in health, according to Department of Public Health Commissioner Deirdre Gifford. Gifford said patience is needed as the state launches Phase 1b.
During his press conference on Thursday afternoon, Governor Ned Lamont revealed additional details about how residents aged 75 and over can schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments.
More detailed information about groups in 1b
- Health providers not included in Phase 1a: All health professionals who may not have received the vaccine in Phase 1a – including mortuary services, OT, PT and telehealth
- Education and childcare: Individuals working in schools, educational institutions and daycare centers (for example, teachers, daycare staff, bus drivers, librarians, program staff before and after school)
- Rescuers and public safety: All first respondents who were not eligible for Phase 1a, including police, firefighters and correctional officers and people who actively work in courts (for example, judges, succession workers, delegates)
- United States Postal Service Employee: Individuals working in the delivery and transportation industries, including United States postal services, as well as other direct delivery services, such as FedEx, UPS and post office
- Personal transport: Public transport, taxi drivers and hitchhiking drivers and airlines
- Essential retail: Individuals who work in retail stores that sell essential products for daily life (for example, grocery store, hardware store and pharmacy / drugstore employees)
- Food and restaurants: Individuals working in the food and restaurant industries (for example, chefs / cooks, bartenders, waiters / receptionists, dishwashers, fast food and store clerks)
- Agriculture: Individuals working in the agriculture, livestock / animal and fishing industries (for example, agricultural workers, fishing, forestry, agricultural inspectors, pest control)
- Manufacture: Individuals who design or produce products for use or sale. (e.g., machine operators, metal and plastic workers, installation, maintenance and repair workers)
- Direct social and government services Individuals providing direct social services or government services (for example, homeless shelter, popular kitchens, municipal or state social services and in-person pastoral / religious services)
- Public drinking water, wastewater and solid waste services: Individuals who work to protect the safety of public drinking water and sewage systems, and who collect, transport and treat solid waste (for example, employees of the water and sewage treatment plant, system operators and collectors of waste and recyclable materials )
Who is in Phase 1a in CT?
According to the state’s vaccination website, the following groups are eligible for Phase 1a vaccination:
- Health personnel: All paid and unpaid people who work in healthcare facilities and who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients to infectious materials.
- Residents of long-term care institutions: Adults residing in facilities that offer a variety of services, including medical and personal care, to people who cannot live independently.
- First responders at risk of exposure to COVID-19 through its response to medical emergencies, such as emergency medical technicians, police and fire fighters. folks.
Not included in Phase 1a are health professionals who do not come into contact with patients or infectious materials, such as telehealth service providers.
Eligible in Phase 1a:
- Allied doctors, nurses and health professionals attending patients
- Licensed pharmacists and registered pharmacy technicians working on-site in pharmacies
- Custody, food, administration and support team working in patient care environments
- Rescuers (police, fire, EMS) if they are actively responding to medical calls to 911 or involved in handling COVID cases
- School nurses
- Home health service providers, housewife escorts, PCAs
- Residents in long-stay institutions
- Dentists, dental hygienists and other oral health professionals
- Laboratory team
- Students doing clinical rotations
Individuals eligible for Phase 1a health care should speak to their organization’s leadership for details on how to access the vaccine.
Some health systems have created appointment scheduling sites for health care providers eligible 1a in their systems, as well as community health workers:
Phase 1c
More information is expected soon.
Future Phases
COVID-19 vaccines will be available to eligible members of the general public starting this summer, according to the state. At this point, you should expect to have access to the vaccine in the same places where you would normally be vaccinated: pharmacies, doctor’s offices, community health clinics, local health clinics and also through other providers.
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On Tuesday, the state’s vaccine allocation subcommittee followed the guidance of the federal government, recommending that people over 65, as well as those over 16 who have certain health conditions, be included in phase 1B . That decision would need to be approved by the governor’s vaccine advisory group.
How to Program a COVID-19 Vaccine in Connecticut
For all individuals aged 75 and over, information about scheduling vaccinations is now available on the state’s COVID vaccine website.
People aged 75 and over can make appointments. Everyone else in Phase 1b should not call or attempt to schedule an appointment yet.
Through a provider: People aged 75 and over can make an appointment through a provider ready for public distribution of the vaccine to eligible residents.
The state says that more than 100 healthcare providers across the state are offering COVID vaccines. All locations require prior booking and registration – walk-ins are not permitted.
- UConn Health: Clinical locations in Farmington
- UConn Health launched a new COVID-19 Vaccine Programming Line also at 860-679-5589.
- Hartford Healthcare: multiple locations across the state
- Hartford Healthcare said people can schedule appointments at the Hartford HealthCare vaccine clinics in Wethersfield; Norwich; Shelton; and Hartford. More sites will be added.
- A hotline is set up where people can ask questions about MyChart: 860-972-4993 or email: [email protected]
- Walgreens locations: A small number of retail locations will have vaccines offered.
- Yale New Haven Health will begin vaccinating individuals aged 75 and over, starting on Wednesday, January 20.
- Appointments will be made on a first come, first served basis. To make an appointment, visit www.ynhhs.org/covidvaccine.
- These public YNHHS vaccination sites will begin opening next week: North Haven, New London, Old Saybrook and Trumbull. A Greenwich website will begin the week of January 25th.
- More sites will be added as they are approved.
- New England’s Trinity Health is scheduling vaccination appointments for people aged 75 and over at four vaccination clinics.
- Patients can schedule an appointment through the VAMS system or their primary care provider Trinity Health.
- Soon patients will be able to book through MyCare.
- More information is available at TrinityHealthOfNE.org/appointment
Connected: People aged 75 and over who have an email address and the ability to schedule an appointment online can schedule via the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS).
Family members can also send information online to their loved ones.
Many providers can be accessed through the VAMS scheduling system, including:
- Trinity Health of New England (hospitals and other locations)
- Griffin Hospital
- Nuvance Health
- Stamford Hospital
- Bristol Hospital
- Local health departments
- Health centers qualified by the federal government
By phone: Who doesn’t have internet can call Connecticut COVID Vaccine Marking Helpline, 877-918-2224. The telephone system was created in partnership with the Department of Public Health and United Way of Connecticut and is specifically targeted to provide support for eligible vaccine recipients who have limited access to technology or who have language, disabilities or other barriers that may prevent it. them from using the existing auto-programming options successfully. The line will answer calls Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, and will offer a callback option when all contact specialists are busy attending to other people. The team will try to return calls as quickly as possible, with the aim of answering the same day, but must be prepared, as this can take several days.
A vaccine is not expected to be widely available to the general public by the end of the summer or fall of 2021.
How to learn if you are eligible
Learn more about stages and eligibility here.
What is the next
Visit the state’s main Vaccination Portal regularly for all the latest updates.