Nevadans 16 and older eligible for COVID vaccine in April, Sisolak says

CARSON CITY — With vaccine production and availability accelerating across the country, Nevada will significantly expand who is eligible to receive a shot.

All Nevadans 16 and older will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine starting April 5, while those of the same age group with underlying medical conditions can get their shot as early as next week, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced Wednesday.

“This vaccination campaign is essential to getting our country and state back to normal, so that we can all hug our families, continue getting Nevadans back to work, go to restaurants, send our kids to school, play sports and get together again,” Sisolak said.

“The end is in sight, Nevada — we can do this,” the governor added.

The plan to ramp up who can receive a vaccine puts Nevada ahead of President Joe Biden’s push for states to make shots available to all residents by May 1 and will see Nevada among a small group of states to announce such widespread eligibility by early next month.

Sisolak emphasized that while eligibility will open up starting April 5, that doesn’t mean everyone will be able to schedule an appointment immediately.

“Availability of vaccine and appointments will still be dependent on the allocation of doses we receive from the federal government,” Sisolak said.

The governor said that more information on where and how to access those vaccine appointments will be coming “in the coming days and weeks.”

Sisolak said the move will not force the state to drastically alter its vaccine playbook that outlines tiers and lanes and prioritized early doses for front-line workers, seniors, law enforcement, teachers and others.

“Many aspects of the playbook will remain in place, and the hard work from this team, and so many more in the state, will continue through this process, including the focus on equity and access,” Sisolak said.

Candice McDaniel, who is leading the state’s vaccination efforts, added that there will continue to be “a very targeted outreach to those communities that are disproportionately affected,” even as eligibility extends to the general public.

As of Wednesday, the only states that have opened up vaccinations to all residents 16 and older are Mississippi and Alaska. And Connecticut’s governor announced this week that residents 16 to 44 will be eligible starting April 5.

More than 360,000 Nevadans, or roughly 11.4 percent of the state’s population, have been fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, according to data on the state’s COVID-19 response site. Another 640,000 initial doses have been administered.

“We have initiated vaccines to better than 25 percent of our eligible population. So, we’re making incredible inroads into the vaccine distribution,” Sisolak said.

Following the announcement, retail and hospitality groups in Nevada urged workers to schedule vaccine appointments as soon as possible.

“Getting our restaurant and hospitality employees vaccinated is a critical step to fully reopening Nevada’s economy,” Alexandria Dazlich, director of government affairs at the Nevada Restaurant Association, said in a statement.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.