DC To Offer Vaccines to Residents With Pre-Existing Conditions In March February 18, 2021
Written by MSDC Staff
Today Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that the District would expand vaccine appointments to Phase 1C, Tier 1 residents, or those with pre-existing conditions, the week of March 1.
During today's press conference, the Mayor announced the District moved to the next phase of eligible populations. That group includes grocery store workers, social service outreach workers, manufacturing workers, and food packaging workers.
Even though DC estimates it will not have enough vaccine doses to meet demand, DC Health still estimates 70% of residents 65 and older will have a vaccine by the end of the month. Despite this progress, the District announced a few changes to the appointment process:
- Thursday appointments will open at 6 PM tomorrow, and the Thursday appointments will alternate opening between 9 AM and 6 PM openings every week.
- In March, DC's system will be able to give residents who pre-register a 24 hour notice window to sign up for appointments.
The Mayor also announced that beginning in March residents with pre-existing conditions are eligible to be vaccinated. Twenty different "conditions" make a resident age 16-64 eligible, including pregnancy and cancer. DC estimates 160,000 residents have at least one of these conditions, although that list would include people already eligible like healthcare workers.