By Tim Mastro

DOVER — Gov. John Carney received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday at Dover International Speedway, in a vaccination event for Delawareans 50 years old or older and essential workers.

After receiving the vaccine, Gov. Carney said all Delawareans will “probably” be eligible to sign up for a vaccine within the month — likely before President Joe Biden’s goal of May 1.

Currently the state’s waiting list is for those age 50 and older. Essential workers also are eligible for vaccinations through their employers and are sent invitations for events like the one Sunday through the Delaware Division of Public Health. The speedway hosted a mass vaccination Saturday, too.

“The supply is increasing so we have to increase our ability to move it quickly,” Gov. Carney said. “I feel much better about supply. There is still a level of scarcity. I’m more concerned now about through-put capacity, mostly of our partners — pharmacies, hospitals, community organizations, our own public health clinics.”

Gov. Carney said he signed up for the waiting list March 23, which was the first day Delawareans who are 50 or older could register. He was invited to Sunday’s event for his first dose of the two-dose Moderna vaccine. His wife, First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney, received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Saturday.

Delaware’s waiting list was only available to those age 65 and older until this past week.

“I’m so excited to finally get the vaccine,” Gov. Carney said. “My number finally came up. I’m 64 so I missed the 65 and older group by a little bit.”

More than 130,000 seniors registered for the waiting list and there are an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 still on it, according to state data. Gov. Carney said based on how often those individuals are invited to state-run vaccination events, state officials think they have already received their shots somewhere else.

About 20,000 individuals above age 50 signed up for the waiting list this past week. More than half were invited to the weekend clinic at Dover International Speedway. Just over 5,000 accepted the invites and were vaccinated, Gov. Carney said.

The DPH also has had about 1,600 businesses with essential workers register to receive invites to vaccination events and pass on those sign-up links to their employees.

Persons age 16 to 64 with high and moderate-risk medical conditions are also eligible to be vaccinated by their medical provider or a health care system.

Delawareans above 50 years old can still sign up for the waiting list by visiting vaccinerequest.delaware.gov. Those on the waiting list receive invitations to events like the one at Dover International Speedway and smaller sites run by Curative Inc. at Delaware Technical Community College campuses.

The age requirement to sign up for the waiting list could be lowered in April. The original goal was for all Delawareans 16 years old and up to be eligible for the waiting list by May 1, but Gov. Carney said the state is running a little ahead of schedule.

“It doesn’t mean everybody can get an appointment right away,” Gov. Carney said. “But they’ll be able to sign up to get an appointment right away.”

The DPH is expecting a large increase in its supply of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which Gov. Carney said will help speed things up even more since it is only one dose. As of Saturday at 11:59 p.m., Delaware had only received 13,200 doses of Johnson & Johnson compared to 268,125 of Pfizer and 242,100 of Moderna, which are both two-dose vaccinations.

Delaware has administered 433,516 doses of vaccine, which does not include the vaccines given out at Sunday’s clinic. A total of 152,054 individuals are fully vaccinated, including 144,963 who received two doses of a two-dose series and 7,091 who got one dose of a one-dose series. An additional 136,569 have received the first dose of a two-dose series and are awaiting their second dose.

All state vaccination statistics are as of Saturday at 11:59 p.m.

As for the transmission of COVID-19, the DPH reported 372 new positive cases in Sunday’s update, bringing the state’s total to 94,062. The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations fell by one compared to the day prior, down to 128. Of those hospitalized, 13 are considered critically ill.

No new COVID-19-related deaths were reported in Sunday’s update, reflecting data as of Saturday at 6 p.m., as the total amount of COVID-19-related deaths remained at 1,544.