Joined by one of the first people in Connecticut to get the coronavirus vaccine, state officials struck an optimistic tone Monday afternoon about the vaccine marking the beginning of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and fielded questions about logistics and what can be expected in the months ahead.

"It was an absolutely great, great moment for science, for the health care community," said Keith Grant, senior system director for infection prevention at Hartford HealthCare and a member of the state's COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Group. He received the vaccine Monday morning at Hartford Hospital.

Lamont said he's happy with the support the state has gotten from the federal government and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"So far, so good," he said. So, when does the governor expect to take the vaccine?

Lamont said he's of two minds: He'd like to lead by example, but he also thinks maybe he should wait until his category of group 1b, "so I think I'll let the CDC help me with that decision."

The state is now in phase 1a, which includes health care workers and residents and staff of long-term care facilities. Lamont expects all health care workers to have received both doses of the vaccine by the end of January. Phase 1b includes critical workforce, other congregate settings, adults over 65 and high-risk individuals.

Lamont said Monday he anticipates wider distribution to the general public in late April or May, but said that depends on the supply chain and maybe the state could ramp things up sooner if the AstraZeneca vaccine is approved.

According to a chart Lamont shared in his briefing, the vaccine is being delivered this week to Hartford Hospital, St. Francis Hospital, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, UConn John Dempsey Hospital, Manchester Memorial Hospital, Middlesex Hospital, Yale New Haven Hospital, Bristol Hospital, Waterbury Hospital, Danbury Hospital, Griffin Health and Stamford Hospital.

Grant said Hartford HealthCare will be getting the vaccine out to its other partners across the state by the end of this week or the beginning of next week.

Connecticut Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe said starting next week, the state will begin getting doses out to Federally Qualified Health Centers, local health departments, and other providers who will be administering the vaccine to other health care workers as part of phase 1.

Geballe said the state Department of Public Health is onboarding more than 70 providers and will have an estimated 100 providers by the end of the year.

Those who get the first dose of the vaccine are supposed to get the second dose 21 days later. Grant said if people go over by a few days, they "should still be perfectly fine to receive the second dose" and the gap "shouldn't reduce the efficacy that much."

Paul Mounds, the governor's chief of staff, said he doesn't expect the predicted storm this week to affect the distribution plan for the vaccine.

Building confidence in the vaccine and confidence in the economy

Grant said a Hartford HealthCare survey found that about 65% of system employees — including not only medical personnel but also custodians, security and food service workers — are willing to take the vaccine at this point, a figure in line with other surveys nationwide.

Lamont said as people see friends and people like Grant take the vaccine, more will come forward, and he expects demand to outstrip supply for the next three or four months.

But if fewer people want to take it than anticipated, Lamont said he would reevaluate the timeline of the phases and open it to people in the next phase.

Along with wanting to build confidence for people to take the vaccine, officials hope the vaccine builds consumer confidence in the state economy, but Lamont doesn't see that happening overnight.

"It's not a silver bullet. It's not going to happen in the next two weeks," Lamont said, noting he thinks there will be more confidence come March. He also thinks it'll take a few months before enough people are vaccinated so that there is a difference in the test positivity rate.

In the meantime, he said, people still need to be cautious.

The governor's office reported an additional 7,231 cases over the weekend, bringing the state's total to 153,992, with a 6.08% positivity rate for tests. Current hospitalizations rose by 33 to 1,243, and total deaths rose by 81 to 5,444.

Lamont noted the state had 1,200 hospitalizations 10 days ago, so "it's something that seems to be, for now, under control." He said intensive care unit beds in Connecticut are at 59% capacity — which is considered normal — with less than half related to COVID-19.

e.moser@theday.com