Ron Votral receives a vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a self-vaccination site in Robstown, Texas, February 9, 2021.
Go to Nakamura | Reuters
Texas will allow residents over the age of 50 to receive Covid-19 vaccines beginning March 15, becoming the most populous U.S. state to extend age group eligibility to date, the state health department announced Wednesday.
To date, Texas has allowed frontline health workers, people with underlying health conditions and those aged 65 and over to receive a blow. The state announced last week that it will immediately include school and childcare workers on its vaccine eligibility list.
By extending eligibility to people over the age of 50, the state aims to protect people at the highest risk of severe virus disease, the department said in a statement. The measure will add another 5 million Texans to the state’s priority list, although more than 1 million of them have already been vaccinated.
“Extension between the ages of 50 and 64 will continue the state’s priorities to protect those most at risk from severe outcomes and to preserve the state’s health care system,” said Imelda Garcia, associate commissioner of the Department of Services. Health for laboratory services and infectious diseases. a declaration.
More than half of the state’s elderly have received at least one dose of vaccine and nearly a third are fully vaccinated, according to DSHS.
Wednesday also marked the end of Lone Star State’s masked mandate, and companies are now allowed to reopen to 100% capacity, Gov. Greg Abbott announced last week, noting the state’s increase in vaccine eligibility, declining capacity and capacity. of the hospital as a reasoning.
Alaska became the first state on Tuesday to open vaccine eligibility for all residents 16 and older.