For the last three weeks, the Fairfield Health Department has been giving out the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. In a January 15 announcement, the town said that they had administered more than 2,800 vaccines in that period.

Fairfield is using the Moderna vaccine instead of the Pfizer vaccine, because the Pfizer vaccines require freezers for storage that the town does not have. Fairfield acquired the equipment for the storage of the Moderna vaccine through grants from the state.

A statewide plan determines who can currently get the vaccine. We are currently in stage 1b of the plan, which means that people over 75 years old can receive the shot. The rollout of phase 1b began this week. People who were eligible in stage 1a (healthcare personnel, long term facility residents, and first responders) can continue to get the vaccine. Later in stage 1b, more people will be able to get it, including front line essential workers, people over the age of 65, adults with high-risk conditions, and residents of congregate settings, including prisons and group homes. Essential workers covered under the next steps of the stage include workers in restaurants, teachers, public transit workers, and grocery store employees. You can read the full list of eligible workers here. According to the Courant, the list of high-risk conditions includes cancer, Down Syndrome, pregnancy, heart conditions, and obesity.

The vaccines can only be administered to people who are authorized by the state and registered in the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS), a federal tool that can be used by recipients of the vaccine to schedule appointments and obtain records of the vaccination, among other uses.

FHLS teachers were notified on Jan 15 that they could begin making their vaccine appointments.