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Texas and Georgia are both lowering the age requirement for receiving the coronavirus vaccine, with the new rules in both states set to take effect next Monday, according to reports.
Texas will allow residents 50 and over to get the vaccine and Georgia will offer it to people over 55, according to the Texas Tribune and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The states’ plans come a day after Alaska said any adult who wants a vaccine will be able to get it.
“Expanding to ages 50 to 64 will continue the state’s priorities of protecting those at the greatest risk of severe outcomes and preserving the state’s health care system,” Imelda Garcia, an official with Texas’ Department of State Health Services, said Wednesday, the Tribune reported.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced at a news conference Wednesday that Georgians 55 and over and people with “high risk” conditions would be eligible starting Monday.
He said the new eligibility would account for 92% of the categories of those who have died from the virus.
“As we have from the beginning, we will protect the most vulnerable to severe illness, hospitalization or death, and enable Georgians to get back to normal,” Kemp said, according to the Journal-Constitution.
In Alaska, Dr. Anne Zink, the state’s chief medical officer, said officials were seeing open vaccine appointments and wanted to allow as many people who want a vaccine shot to get one. More appointments will be added as the vaccine is moved around the state and additional doses come in, she said.
“This does feel like a gigantic milestone in so many ways to get to the point where we can offer protection for anyone who wants it in the state,” Zink said during a news conference with Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
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New York also lowered the age to get the vaccine from 65 to 60, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday. Those 60 and older were able to start getting the vaccine Wednesday.
Florida will expand to residents 60 and over next Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday, according to WKMG-TV in Orlando.
“I would imagine that demand will be slightly lower for 60 to 64 than it was for above 65, but we do anticipate the demand to still be pretty robust when you’re talking about this so I’m excited about that,” the governor said.
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Other states like Minnesota and California are expanding vaccine eligibility for different types of workers and those with underlying conditions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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