Photo: Martin Schwartz/PEOPLE
The nation’s most populous state, California, will expand their vaccine eligibility to anyone 50 and up starting April 1 and anyone 16 and up on April 15, enabling more than 24 million people to get vaccinated.
“In just a few weeks, there’ll be no rules, no limitations, as it relates to the ability to get a vaccine administered,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a press conference on Thursday,according to ABC News. “This state is going to come roaring back.”
The next two most populous states — Texas and Florida — have also said they will open up their vaccine eligibility. Texas will allow anyone aged 16 and up to make an appointment starting March 29, and Florida residents 18 and up can get vaccinated beginning April 5.
Alaska was the first state to expand vaccinationsto residents 16 and up, on March 10, and Mississippi, West Virginia, Utah and Georgia have all followed in the last two weeks.
RELATED VIDEO: Fully Vaccinated People Can Hang Out Together Unmasked, CDC Says in New Guidelines
Of the three available vaccines, just Pfizer’s is approved for people aged 16 and 17, while Moderna’s and Johnson & Johnson’s are allowed for those 18 and up.Both PfizerandModerna are now testing their vaccines on childrenbetween 6 months old and 12.
More than a quarter of Americans — 87,343,622 people — have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine,according to the Centers for Disease Control. Of that group, 47,419,832, or 14.3% of the population, are now fully vaccinated against the virus. In most states, vaccines are restricted to people over age 65, residents of long-term care facilities, health care workers or people with certain pre-existing conditions.
However, there are still Americans who say they are hesitant to get vaccinated, according to recent polls. In a speech on March 11, Biden said that “we need millions more to get vaccinated” in order to end the pandemic. He’s also concerned thatsome states are seeing a rise in casesas newer variants spread through the country.
“Getting vaccinated is the best thing we can do to fight back against these variants,” he said.
source: people.com
