Here's When You'll Likely Receive The Coronavirus Vaccine In CT

CONNECTICUT — The picture of Connecticut’s tentative vaccine rollout became much clearer Thursday as Gov. Ned Lamont and the co-chairs of his vaccine advisory group laid out a vaccination timeline.

Connecticut expects to receive its first vaccine doses on Dec. 14 for the Pfizer vaccine candidate and Dec. 21 for the Moderna candidate assuming the U.S. Food and Drug Administration grants emergency use authorization. Both vaccine candidates require two doses spread weeks apart and a time period after the second dose for the vaccine to take effect.

CT estimated vaccine administration timeline

• Dec. 14: Connecticut expects first delivery of 31,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine.
• Dec. 21: Connecticut expects 63,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine to be delivered.
• Week of Jan. 25: Around 212,000 people will have received their two vaccine doses. Another 168,000 people will have received their first dose.
• Mid-January to late May: Vaccine administration for people in phase 1b.
• June: Vaccine administration for people in phase 2.

Connecticut vaccine phases

Connecticut residents who are in phase 1a (Very first vaccine phase)

There are 204,000 health care workers, 22,000 nursing home residents and 6,000 medical first responders that fall into the state's first vaccine priority group. Those numbers assume 80 percent of people in those categories get the vaccine.

Connecticut is prioritizing health care workers because they are at a higher exposure risk can stay on the front lines

Health care workers will be further prioritized depending on their level of coronavirus exposure risk, said Dr. Reggie Eadie, co-chair of the state’s vaccine advisory group and president/CEO of the Trinity Health of New England.

Those working directly with coronavirus patients such as those in the emergency department and intensive care units will likely get it first. The work is ongoing to determine the exact rollout, Eadie said.

Health care workers beyond the very first won’t have to wait very long to get their vaccine, said Dr. Deidre Gifford, acting state Department of Health commissioner. All health care workers should be able to get the vaccine by the end of January.

Nursing homes are being prioritized because residents are more likely to suffer serious Covid-19 complications, Lamont said.

"These are the folks most likely to suffer complications, these are the older folks who are more likely to suffer fatalities and these are the folks most likely to go to the hospital,” Lamont said.

Keeping nursing home residents out of the hospital will help alleviate capacity issues, he said.

Connecticut residents who are in phase 1b (tentative mid-January to late May)

• Critical workforce such as first responders, teachers and others who aren’t able to work remotely.
• People in other congregate settings such as prisons.
• Adults over the age of 65.
• High risk people under the age of 65.

Connecticut residents who are in phase 2 (tentative June)

• Remaining adults
• Those under the age of 18.

Vaccine choice

People will have a choice of vaccine candidates assuming there is availability, Eadie said. However, they will have to stick with the same vaccine candidate after they get their first dose.