Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday that people from ages 65 to 74 will be able to schedule appointments starting Thursday to get the COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to groups that are already eligible, though providers with open slots can schedule for that age group now.

Noting that 56% of people over 75 in Connecticut have gotten their first dose of the vaccine, Lamont said that the first 20, 30 or 40% are the people who are much more likely to want to get vaccinated, but "now there's a little more hesitancy, and I want to make sure there's no vaccine left behind."

He also said that people over 65 make up 18% of the state's population but account for half of hospitalizations from COVID-19.

There are an estimated 350,000 people between 65 and 74 in Connecticut, compared to about 277,000 over age 75, though some may have already gotten vaccinated if they live in a long-term care facility or are a health care worker.

"It will probably take a month to get all the 65-plus vaccinated, depending on folks' appetite and interest in getting vaccinated," Lamont said.

The governor who is 67, commented, "I'd like to think I'm in the next week or so, if everything works out."

There was some confusion Monday about the timing of vaccine eligibility, as some providers already started opening vaccine clinics to people over 65. For example, the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS) and Yale New Haven Health have begun booking appointments for people over 65. The form to request enrollment in VAMS is available at dphsubmissions.ct.gov/OnlineVaccine.

Steve Mansfield, director of Ledge Light Health District, said in an email message around 12:30 p.m. that effective immediately, Ledge Light-sponsored clinics would vaccinate people over age 65. But he noted the formal launch is Thursday.

Ledge Light had been holding clinics exclusively at the City of Groton Municipal Building but is instead holding clinics this week at C.B. Jennings Elementary School in New London and at the North Stonington Education Center, as these two municipalities have had lower vaccination rates.

Both clinics have already filled up. The form to sign up for the North Stonington clinic, for example, which is happening Friday from noon to 4 p.m., was unavailable by 2:15 p.m. Monday.

The Bristol Senior Center posted on Facebook Monday that the Bristol-Burlington Health District gave them permission to start helping schedule appointments for those over 65 who live in either of the two towns. After the announcement, the senior center's phones were ringing "constantly."

Lamont expects to open vaccine appointments to frontline essential workers sometime in March, and he thinks scheduling for people with comorbidities will happen at the same time. The governor said the state will follow the lead of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when it comes to defining comorbidities.

Lamont also announced that while he is extending other executive orders from Feb. 9 to April 20, the executive order granting limited immunity to nursing homes and hospitals will end in March.

He said that early in the pandemic, such facilities weren't subject to lawsuits "because we thought there was too much uncertainty, too much changing," but "that's not the case in February. It's a different situation, so people should be held accountable."

The governor said he will look at the size of events and the size of crowds at sporting events, and will probably make a decision in the next week.

Latest case and vaccine numbers

Since Friday, 4,367 COVID-19 cases were confirmed out of 122,145 tests reported, according to data from the governor's office, a 3.58% positivity rate. This brings the total number of tests throughout the pandemic to more than 6 million.

Hospitalizations decreased by 12, to 815, and 68 people died over the weekend, bring the total deaths from COVID-19 to 7,282. Lamont said fatalities "are about half where they were a month ago, and the trendlines are all positive."

On Monday, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London had 18 COVID-19 hospitalizations and Westerly Hospital had nine.

For the coronavirus vaccine, there have been 387,174 first doses and 129,907 second doses administered.

Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe said the state has supported vaccine clinics at 24 pharmacies in Connecticut from its own allocation, and the state has given doses to Walmart locations in seven more vulnerable communities: Hartford, New Haven, Windham, Norwalk, Torrington, Waterbury and West Haven.

On top of the state supply of 58,000 doses this week, Geballe said he expects another 11,000 doses to go to 60 CVS and Walgreens locations across the state through a dedicated supply from the federal pharmacy program, starting Friday.

e.moser@theday.com