By Jared S. Hopkins and Peter Loftus
Changes by the federal government to speed up Covid-19 vaccinations will increase doses available but might not help strapped health departments and hospitals give more shots more quickly, public health and hospital officials said.
U.S. health officials said Tuesday that states should expand vaccine eligibility to people 65 years and older as well as those with pre-existing health conditions, a large group that most states didn't expect to inoculate for weeks.
The U.S. will also stop holding back second doses, reversing the strategy since the rollout began last month.
More doses could be helpful in bolstering supplies that have been limited so far, public-health experts and hospital officials said, but the changes might not achieve the goal of accelerating the pace of vaccinations.