Ron Votral receives a vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at an automatic vaccination site in Robstown, Texas, on February 9, 2021.
Go Nakamura | Reuters
Texas will allow residents 50 and older to receive vaccines against Covid-19 beginning March 15, making it the most populous U.S. state to extend eligibility to the age group to date, it announced Wednesday. state health department.
To date, Texas has allowed front-line health care workers, people with underlying illnesses, and those over 65 to receive a shot. The state announced last week that it would also immediately include school and daycare workers on its vaccine eligibility list.
By extending eligibility to people over the age of 50, the state aims to protect people most at risk of serious illness from the virus, the department said in a statement. The move will add 5 million more jeans to the state’s priority list, even though more than a million of them have already been vaccinated.
“The expansion at the age of 50 to 64 will continue with the state’s priorities of protecting people at greatest risk of serious outcomes and preserving the state’s health care system,” said Imelda Garcia, associate commissioner of the State Department of Health Services for laboratory services and infectious diseases. a statement.
More than half of the state’s seniors have received at least one dose of vaccine and nearly a third are fully vaccinated, according to DSHS.
Lone Star State’s mask mandate also ended on Wednesday, and companies are now allowed to reopen to 100% capacity, Governor Greg Abbott announced last week, noting the increase in state vaccine eligibility, declining new cases, and extensive hospital capacity as reasoning.
On Tuesday, Alaska became the first state to open vaccine requirements to all residents over the age of 16.