CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Nevada is making all residents ages 16 and older eligible for the coronavirus vaccine starting April 5 as part of its efforts to inoculate the population as quickly as possible.
Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak on Wednesday said opening eligibility was made possible through the approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and increased production. But whether shots would be available, he said, depended on the supply delivered by the federal government.
The timeline could mean appointments in the coming weeks open to hundreds of thousands more people in Nevada, where roughly 61% of the population is older than 18 and younger than 65.
“Availability of vaccine and appointments will still be dependent on the allocation of doses we receive from the federal government,” Sisolak said, shifting the onus to the Biden administration.
The state’s new timeline satisfies the goal that President Joe Biden announced last week, when he said he wanted everyone in the U.S. 18 years and older to be eligible for vaccines by May 1.
Governors in some U.S. states said the goal forced them into a corner amid uncertainties about the federal supply. Rhode Island health officials have since said they will need more doses to meet the benchmark, while in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis extended eligibility on Monday to residents 60 and older.
The timeline would not require Nevada to alter its vaccine playbook that prioritized and designated available doses for seniors and frontline workers. Throughout the state, teachers, health care workers, police officers and hospitality industry workers have already been made eligible to receive the vaccine, as have individuals ages 65 and older.
Nevada also plans to make residents ages 16 and older with underlying health conditions eligible for shots on March 22 through partner pharmacies before opening eligibility to all residents in that group.
The state has received more than 1.3 million doses from manufacturers through the federal government and roughly 990,000 had been administered to more than 640,000 individuals as of Tuesday. Some 360,245 residents have completed their vaccine regimens, which include one or two shots depending on whether they received doses manufactured by Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson.
The state has relied on a combination of government-run vaccination sites and pharmacies to administer doses and, after early issues in procuring doses from the federal government, has quickly scaled up efforts. Amid efforts to get shots into arms quickly, some minority communities fell through the cracks early on. Latinos account for more than 30% of the state population but had received 14% of doses as of Tuesday.
Governors across the U.S. are attempting to balance equity with efficiency and Sisolak said opening appointments wouldn’t come at the expense of ensuring doses are distributed equitably throughout zip codes and across racial and ethnic lines.
“We’re taking the physical vaccine itself and the vaccinator into the community … Everybody doesn’t have a car and everybody doesn’t live on a bus route. So we’re taking it into communities to make sure everybody has access.”
Nevada Health Bureau Chief Candice McDaniel said vaccine officials planned to continue targeted outreach to marginalized communities to ensure people can make appointments in their neighborhoods even if opening eligibility to more people creates competition for doses.
State health officials reported 301 confirmed coronavirus cases and 12 additional deaths on Wednesday - a slight uptick in infections and deaths compared to what the state saw in recent weeks. Still, the reported numbers are far fewer than in late 2020, when Nevada was reporting more than 3,000 new cases and up to 70 known deaths on certain days.
The state on Wednesday surpassed 300,000 virus cases, meaning roughly one in 10 Nevada residents have tested positive for the virus since the start of the pandemic. Since last March, 5,147 people have died.
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Metz is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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