Everyone ages 16 and up will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Texas regardless of occupation or health status starting on March 29, state health officials said Tuesday.

The Texas Department of State Health Services is still asking providers to prioritize appointments for people who are 80 years old or older and to prioritize walk-ins from anyone in that age group who shows up without an appointment. The vaccines are not limited to Texas residents, and citizenship is not a requirement for the vaccine.

“We are closing in on 10 million doses administered in Texas, and we want to keep up the momentum as the vaccine supply increases,” said Imelda Garcia, DSHS associate commissioner for laboratory and infectious disease services and the chair of the Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel.

Until now, eligibility for the vaccine was mainly restricted to a few groups: Health care workers, people ages 50 and older, those with certain comorbidities who are 16 or older, and employees of schools and daycare centers. Texas began receiving vaccines in mid-December.

The vaccine is still in short supply, as the announcement makes about 22 million people eligible on Monday. The state has so far been allocated more than 14 million doses since distribution began in December — far short of the supply needed to fully vaccinate everyone right away.

As of Tuesday, Texas had administered more than 9.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine. More than 6 million people have received at least one dose and more than 3 million have been fully vaccinated, according to state health officials. On March 10, the statewide mask mandate was lifted and businesses were allowed to go back to 100% capacity, even as health experts cautioned that Texans should not let their guard down as emerging variants threaten another potential spike in cases. New coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are at lows not seen since October, according to state health figures.

Texas health officials have been grappling over who to include in each new eligibility group, under pressure from public-facing workers such as grocery store employees, restaurant staff and transportation workers whose jobs put them at higher risk of contracting the virus than those who work from home.

Meanwhile, counties are attempting to ramp up vaccinations for communities of color, who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and appear to be behind white residents in getting the vaccine.

Health experts have said that between 70% and 90% of Texans must be vaccinated in order to reach herd immunity and stop the spread of the virus. Texas has about 29 million residents, nearly a quarter of whom are under 18. Of the three vaccines available, only the two-dose Pfizer vaccine is available for ages 16 and up. The others, manufactured by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, are available for ages 18 and up.

President Joe Biden recently directed states to make the vaccine available to all adults by May 1. Several states have already opening up their eligibility to all adults or announced plans to do so soon.

The state is also launching a website next week for people to sign up for vaccines at public health centers and state-run clinics. The Texas Public Health Vaccine Scheduler will alert participants to upcoming events and available appointments. For those who do not have access to the internet, the state will also be creating a hotline to find appointments by phone, officials said.

Some counties, including Brazoria and Galveston, responded by immediately inviting anyone 16 and older who wants the shot to sign up on local waiting lists now.

“We want to make sure that people sign up and are ready to get vaccinated as our supply increases and state guidelines are updated,” said Dr. Janak Patel, director of healthcare epidemiology and infection control for the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, which has administered about 150,000 doses. “Signing up now means that you are already on the list when the criteria are changed to allow more people to be vaccinated.”

(Story by Karen Brooks Harper, Texas Tribune)