Delaware is expanding vaccine eligibility this week, lowering the required age to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
“Becauses we really have to get out of the 1A, 1B, 1C perspective and just accelerate at putting vaccines in people’s arms across the board, while meeting our obligation to those with preexisting conditions,” said Gov. John Carney.
Starting Wednesday pharmacies in Delaware are allowed to administer vaccine to those 50 years or older.
Eligibility is also opening to those 16 yrs or older with underlying medical conditions through health care providers, including hospitals. The list of conditions that qualify is here.
But State Public Health Director Dr. Karyl Rattay says the state is leaving it to medical providers to make the call on prioritizing who gets to the front of the line.
"We want them to use their judgement," said Dr. Rattay. "We can't make all these decisions about who should be prioritized. We know there are certain conditions thatbaat highest risk, but, for example, you might have an asthmatic who has uncontroled or difficult to control asthma, who might be at higher risk than someone with well controlled diabetes."
The state suggests that people should contact their medical provider ?about vaccination opportunities, and encourages providers to reach out to their highest risk patients directly to schedule appointments.
State officials also note non-paid caregivers of Delawareans with high- and moderate-risk medical conditions may also qualify for vaccination through medical providers.
And starting next Tuesday, March 23, the state will open up itsCOVID-10 vaccination waiting list to all Delawreans 50 years or older. State officials say everyone who previously signed up for that wait list has been sent an invitatiion for a vacination appointment.
"We really are very excited to accelerate our efforts at this point," said Dr. Rattay. "Given the decreased demand among seniors, increased supply and increased capacity among our vaccination providers, it is time for us to move into our next steps of vaccination."
These changes come after President Biden promised last week that all adults nationwide would be eligible for the vaccine by May 1st.
"We're moving in that direction anyway because of the increased supply and our focus on 'Fast and Fair"," said Carney, who noted the state had been considering "collapsing" its phased approach to eligibility for a couple of weeks.
But state officials say efforts to exclusively vaccinate as many seniors and frontline workers will continue throughout the coming week. And Dr. Rattay says going forward those groups will still be able to get to the front of the line.
“It really is important that we prioritize those who are at the highest risk over the next month and get those vaccinated before we open this up to the whole population,” said Rattay.
As of Monday, Delaware administered nearly 320,000 vaccines statewide. About 20% of the state’s population has received at least one dose and Rattay says at least 67% of all Delaware seniors have received at least one dose of vaccine
The state currently has more than 78,000 doses of vaccine, including the latest shipment of one-dose Johnson and Johnson.
