Several States Slated to Open Vaccination Eligibility to All Adults

Several states are slated to open up eligibility for the coronavirus vaccines to all adults, not just vulnerable populations, in the coming days and weeks.

Six states — Kansas, Louisiana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas — are lifting restrictions on vaccine eligibility on Monday, opening eligibility to those 16 and older, according to USA Today.

On Tuesday, Minnesota will open its eligibility to all adults, followed by Indiana and South Carolina on Wednesday and Connecticut on Thursday. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced last week that the Sunshine State will open eligibility to all adults beginning Monday, April 5.

“We’ve made great progress and I look forward to continuing to work hard to make sure everyone in Florida who wants a shot can get a shot. No mandate, but access for all,” DeSantis emphasized in the announcement:

I’m pleased to announce that beginning this Monday, March 29, all Floridians age 40 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Beginning the following Monday, April 5, all Floridians age 18 and older will be eligible. pic.twitter.com/gJ0HHmiINW

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 25, 2021

Biden this month pledged to have vaccine eligibility open to every American adult by May 1.

“All adult Americans will be eligible to get a vaccine no later than May 1. That’s much earlier than expected,” Biden said during a speech delivered on the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic, although he clarified that it did not mean the shots would be administered by May 1.

“Let me be clear: That doesn’t mean everyone’s going to have that shot immediately, but it means you’ll be able to get in line beginning May 1. Every adult will be eligible to get their shot,” he said.

According to the outlet, nearly every state, as well as Washington, DC, has pledged to meet the May 1 goal.

Meanwhile, New York is the first state to embrace a form of a vaccine passport program, allowing New Yorkers to pull up a code on their phones, showing proof that they either had a vaccine for the virus or recently tested negative. Florida’s DeSantis balked at the prospect of such a program embraced by the state, promising it remains “totally off the table” in the Sunshine State.

Over 143 million shots have been administered in the U.S., according to March 28 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).