State vaccine committee could tweak rollout timing in the coming weeks

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    NORTH BRANFORD, CT (WFSB) — Connecticut is one of just eight states that has vaccinated more than 2 percent of its population.

However, Gov. Ned Lamont warned that the efficient rollout doesn’t mean the average person will get the first dose any faster.

Tuesday, the state’s Vaccine Allocation Committee will meet and it’s possible that it could tweak the timing of the vaccine rollout in the coming weeks.

Lamont said it all comes down to the fact that Connecticut has been on the wrong side of supply and demand.

As an example, doses of the vaccine will arrive at Evergreen Woods, a retirement community in North Branford, on Tuesday morning. By the end of the week, state leaders hope every Connecticut nursing home resident will have received at least one dose. The problem, though, is the state still has a long way to go and only a limited amount of the vaccine.

The governor said the numbers show Connecticut’s vaccine rollout is moving efficiently, but the limited supply from the federal government has already had a negative impact. Initially, people between the ages of 65-74 were supposed to be next in line, but they were all bumped back to “phase 1C.”

“One thing we are working on very hard that you see in other places is a supply and demand disconnect,” Lamont said. “Sometimes you see vaccines on the shelf and not be used and collecting dust. We aren’t letting that happen. We are being careful. If a hospital calls and says they have extra, we move it to somewhere that’s in need.”

Lamont stressed that people in our state can rest assured that healthcare workers will administer the vaccine as quickly as possible after the doses arrive in the state.

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