Dear Connecticut COVID Vaccine Providers,

 Thank you again for your continued efforts in the COVID Vaccine roll-out. This email contains important information about:
 

• Getting ready for general availability of vaccines on April 1
• Clinics and vaccine allocation for high school and university students
• Additional information about what to expect in April and May
• Eligibility language   
• Reminder: Check clinic listings

Please read this message in its entirety and be prepared to act.

Getting ready for general availability of vaccines on April 1

Individuals who live or work in Connecticut and are 16 and older will become eligible to schedule vaccine appointments starting April 1. Providers should take the following steps:

• Providers should extend schedules through Sunday, May 2. No first doses should be offered after that date. Schedules should be extended based on current baseline allocations.

• As always, orders may exceed baseline allocations, but for now, all providers should continue to plan against their most recently communicated baseline allocation. Baseline allocations will be guaranteed through the week of April 26 to support scheduling through May 2.

• Schedulers should be updated between 12:01am and 8am on April 1 to align to new eligibility – Pfizer providers should allow for scheduling for all individuals 16+ and Moderna and J&J providers should allow for scheduling for all individuals 18+.

Clinics and vaccine allocation for high school and university students

In order to ensure that there is ready access to vaccine for the general population – including individuals with high-risk conditions, individuals working in jobs in which they cannot easily socially distance, as well as other vulnerable populations, dedicated allocations will not be made for student clinics in the first weeks of April.

Eligible high school, college, and university students will be able to make appointments at public clinics if they choose. Dedicated clinics for large student groups will be supported with allocation on the following schedule, beginning in late April or early May:

• Alliance School Districts can conduct on-site clinics with Pfizer vaccine between April 19 and May 7. In support of the Governor’s efforts to increase vaccination rates in under-served communities, reopen schools, and build confidence for students to go back to the classroom, dedicated clinics will be offered for high school students in Connecticut’s 33 Alliance School Districts. Alliance Districts are designated districts with the highest percentage of students living in poverty and facing barriers to educational attainment. DPH will work with the local health departments and districts to arrange for Pfizer-based clinics for students 16-and-older in these districts starting April 19. The goal will be to offer first dose clinics in these schools between April 19 and May 7.

• Additional high-school clinics can begin in May. More information about planning such clinics will be offered soon. It is anticipated that these may be lower volume clinics given that many of these students will have received a vaccine in the community; however, these clinics can offer an opportunity for easy access to Pfizer for students before the start of the summer. The pace of these clinics will be somewhat limited by overall Pfizer vaccine supply, but it is expected that all high schools should be able to do first dose Pfizer clinics in May.

• Colleges and universities will be able to receive Johnson & Johnson vaccine in early May. More information will be made available soon about the process to order J&J vaccine. Some mRNA vaccines or J&J may be made available sooner as supply allows, but for now, colleges and universities should plan for early May administration of J&J vaccine to students who have not already received vaccine in the community.

All educational institutions should encourage their students to receive vaccines at their earliest convenience and make efforts to offer vaccine prior to the summer holidays to the extent that supply allows.

Additional information about what to expect in April and May 

DPH expects that by early May, supply will begin to exceed demand. The number of individuals who will be self-scheduling first dose appointments is likely to slow dramatically and our collective efforts to conduct outreach to individuals who have not yet received vaccine – due to hesitancy or lack of access – will become more important than ever.

Towards these ends, we ask all providers and local health departments to do the following:

• Develop processes and plans for conducting proactive outreach to your residents and patient populations to encourage vaccination and invite in for appointments – for pharmacies, this may include outreach to a broad set of consumers; for providers, this would include outreach to your patients; and for local health departments, this would involve active outreach to residents in your towns.

• Local health departments should continue to strengthen relationships with community organizations that can support outreach and access efforts. Additional information about grant funding and services to support outreach from DPH will be available soon.

• New clinical models will become more important than ever. Self-scheduled mass vaccination clinics will not reach most of the remaining eligible population in May. Mobile clinics and proactive outreach will be more important than ever, and providers are encouraged to be ready to adopt these models and coordinate with local health departments and districts to deploy them locally.

Eligibility FAQs

Beginning April 1, all individuals 16 years of age and older who live, work, or attend school in Connecticut are eligible to receive vaccine.

Students attending school remotely and employees working remotely who reside outside of Connecticut should receive vaccine in their home states.

Reminder: Check your clinic listing

All COVID vaccine providers should review their public clinic listings currently displayed on the Connecticut state website http://covidvaccinefinder.ct.gov/.

Please click here to confirm whether your listing is correct or make suggested changes.

All providers are asked to complete this step by Wednesday, March 31 at 9am.

Thank you for everything you are doing to ensure access to COVID 19 vaccines in Connecticut! 

As always, please be in touch with DPH if you have any questions.