Pressure Grows for States to Open Vaccines to More Groups of People

Pressure Grows for States to Open Vaccines to More Groups of People

Covid-19 VaccinesVaccine QuestionsDoses Per StateDistribution DelaysHow 9 Vaccines WorkPressure Grows for States to Open Vaccines to More Groups of PeopleSome states are already expanding eligibility to people 65 and over, even though millions of people the C.D.C. recommends go first — health care workers and nursing home residents — have yet to get shots.Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, right, during vaccinations at the John Knox Village nursing home in Pompano Beach, Fla., last month.Credit...Marta Lavandier/Associated PressBy Abby GoodnoughJust weeks into the country's coronavirus vaccination effort, states have begun broadening access to the shots faster than planned, amid tremendous public demand and intense criticism about the pace of the rollout.Some public health officials worry that doing so could bring even more chaos to the complex operation and increase the likelihood that some of the highest-risk Americans will be skipped over. But the debate over how soon to expand eligibility is intensifying as deaths from the virus continue to surge, hospitals are overwhelmed with critically ill patients and millions of vaccine doses delivered last month remain in freezers.Governors are under enormous pressure from their constituents — especially older people, who vote in great numbers and face the highest risk of dying from