Gov. Chris Sununu on Thursday outlined a timeline to vaccinate the remainder of New Hampshire's adult population and some teenagers over the next few months.
Beginning March 29, residents ages 40 to 49 will become eligible to sign up to get vaccinated. On March 31, residents 30 and older will qualify, Sununu said.
A few days later, on April 2, individuals ages 16 and older become eligible.
At a news briefing Thursday, Sununu said the age-based approach to signing people up to get vaccinated "allows everyone to get into the system, everyone to have a guaranteed time."
"We feel fairly confident everyone can get their first shots by Memorial Day," Sununu told reporters. "That's a huge opportunity for the state."
More than 450,000 vaccine doses have been administered in the state as of Thursday, with 195,260 people fully vaccinated, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.
The state has about 1.3 million residents.
Sununu also announced that the state will hold another mass vaccination event this weekend at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. The state vaccinated more than 11,000 residents at the speedway earlier this month.
Teachers, school workers and child care providers started getting vaccinated on March 12, and those ages 50 and older became eligible on Monday. The state has also vaccinated health care workers, police officers, firefighters and other first-responders, along with residents and workers in hard-hit nursing homes.
New Hampshire health officials reported 418 new confirmed coronavirus cases Thursday, and one death. The state has reported more than 82,000 infections and at least 2,856 deaths since the outbreak began last year. The state's positivity rate has also crept up to a seven-day average of 4.4%, Dr. Ben Chan, the state's epidemiologist reported.
The Sununu administration also created a preregistration website – vaccines.nh.gov – to help speed up the vaccination process and provide more certainty. A previous online appointment system caused delays and confusion as thousands tried to book their shots.
Sununu said the state is getting more vaccine shipments from the federal government than it was a few weeks ago. The state has also placed an order for the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
President Joe Biden on Thursday announced his administration's ambitious new goal of getting 200 million COVID-19 vaccination shots administered within his first 100 days in office.
“I know it’s ambitious – twice our original goal – but no other country in the world has come close … to what we’re doing,” Biden told reporters at a White House briefing. "I believe we can do it."
