CDC shifts coronavirus vaccine strategy

Federal health officials this week recommended states lower the cutoff age for the first round of COVID-19 shots from 75 to 65 to speed up distribution. People 65 and older can already get the vaccine in Florida, Georgia, and Washington, D.C. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also encouraged making the vaccines available for more people under 65 with certain health problems. The Trump administration announced plans to release all available vaccines rather than hold some back to make sure everyone gets their second dose on time.

Why the change in strategy? The distribution has gone slower than hoped for. About 3 percent of the population, or more than 9.3 million Americans, have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The virus continues to spread rapidly, and a more contagious variant from the United Kingdom has surfaced in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, New York, and possibly Wisconsin. U.S. deaths attributed to the coronavirus hit another daily high, surpassing 4,300 on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Dig deeper: Read John Dawson’s report in Beginnings about the mutated variant of the coronavirus.