U.S. widens vaccination eligibility as COVID-19 deaths mount

U.S. federal officials on Tuesday agreed to send states additional coronavirus vaccine doses requested by several governors, as the country tries to ramp up the pace of inoculations with the daily COVID-19 death toll hovering at 3,200.

Officials also recommended that states broaden vaccination eligibility to people as young as 65 or who have other chronic health conditions that make them vulnerable to severe COVID-19, drawing a mixed reaction from states that have tailored their inoculation priorities differently.

Releasing additional vaccine was called for last week by President-elect Joe Biden’s spokesman and nine Democratic governors, including Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

“Michigan and states across the country remain ready to get more shots in arms, which is why the Trump Administration’s decision to grant our request and release millions of doses of the vaccine is so crucial,” Whitmer said in a statement.