By Tim Mastro

DOVER — Any individuals 65 and older who live, work or receive their health care in Delaware are invited to sign up to receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Dover International Speedway.

Seniors who meet this criteria can sign up online by visiting here.

Multiple invitations to individuals remaining on the state’s waiting list for seniors have not filled appointments this weekend at Dover International Speedway. Approximately 2,600 slots remain as of 4 p.m., Wednesday. So those 65 years and older who qualify for vaccination who may not have gotten on the waiting list are now encouraged to make an appointment directly.

The scheduling website will only accept appointments by individuals 65 and up, and photo ID is required at the vaccination event in order to prove age. Those under the age of 65 should not attempt to make an appointment, the Delaware Division of Public Health said.

At this event, the DPH will administer the Moderna vaccine on Friday and Sunday, and the Pfizer vaccine on Saturday. This is a drive-through event that usually takes 15 or 20 minutes from arriving to being vaccinated, followed by a short observation period before departure, the DPH said.

The weekend event will also vaccinate frontline and other essential employees who are being signed up via outreach directly to employers, and the event will provide second doses to teachers and childcare workers who received a first dose at Dover Speedway in February. These employment-based appointments are being made through a separate link.

The DPH said it is working to serve Delaware seniors who have not yet been vaccinated in preparation for opening the state’s waiting list and the state’s vaccination events on March 23, to those age 50 and older. The Dover Speedway vaccination event this weekend may be one of the last state-coordinated events with appointments reserved solely for seniors, according to the DPH.

In addition to announcing the move toward expanding the state’s waiting list on March 23 on Tuesday, Gov. John Carney also announced pharmacies in Delaware may begin vaccinating Delawareans aged 50 and older. Health care providers, including hospitals, may vaccinate patients 16 years old and older with high- and moderate-risk medical conditions. Those efforts started Wednesday.

A list of such conditions is available here  under Vaccinations. The DPH notes the list of qualifying conditions is not an all-inclusive of eligible conditions.

Delawareans who have high- and moderate-risk medical conditions should contact their medical provider about vaccination opportunities, according to the DPH. The DPH has also encouraged providers to contact their highest-risk patients directly to schedule vaccination appointments as of Tuesday. Nonpaid caregivers of Delawareans with high-and moderate-risk medical conditions may also qualify for vaccination through medical providers.

Providers who are not vaccinating may refer patients to hospital systems, the DPH said.

Also on Wednesday, the Wilmington Veterans Affairs Medical Center expanded its COVID-19 vaccine eligibility requirements to include all veterans enrolled in VA health care regardless of age.

Veterans must be enrolled in VA health care and preferably receive care at the Wilmington VAMC or on of its five Community Based Outpatient Clinics in Delaware (Kent and Sussex counties) and southern New Jersey (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties) to be eligible to receive the vaccine through Wilmington VAMC, according to a press release.

Wilmington VAMC said it will make every effort to vaccinate veterans in the Traveling Veterans Program and veterans who reside in the region but get care through another VA medical center.

“By expanding the eligibility criteria, we will be able to vaccinate all of our veterans more quickly and get closer to having staff return to their team assignments so we can offer more routine care to Veterans at a pre-pandemic level,” said Vince Kane director of the Wilmington VAMC.

As of this week, Wilmington VAMC administered more than 22,000 vaccine doses to veterans and medical center staff.

Statewide, 340,028 doses of the vaccine have been administered, according to the DPH’s vaccine tracker as of Tuesday at 11:59 p.m.

The DPH reported 125,448 total persons are fully vaccinated, including 118,812 who have received both doses of a two-dose series and 6,636 who received a one-dose series. An additional 95,843 have received one dose of a two-dose series.

There have been 362,260 doses delivered directly to Delaware, plus 71,905 more via the Federal Pharmacy Program. The DPH reported 94,137 doses remaining in its inventory.

Delaware has recorded 91,123 total positive cases of COVID-19 since March 11, 2020 and 1,516 COVID-19-related deaths. As of Tuesday at 6 p.m., 121 individuals are hospitalized with the virus — the largest number in the last 12 days.