ST. LOUIS (AP) - Everyone 16 and older in Missouri is now eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations.
State officials had announced last month that vaccines would be opened to everyone old enough to receive one on April 9. State officials estimate about 4.5 million Missouri residents are eligible as of Friday.
About 1.8 million people in Missouri - or 29 percent of the state's population - had received a first dose of a vaccine by Thursday, according to state officials. Of those, more than 1.1 million, or about 19 percent of the population, had been fully vaccinated.
Nationwide, about 110 million people - more than 33 percent of the US population - have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while about nearly 65 million people have completed their vaccination, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Missouri's health department on Friday reported 2,265 confirmed coronavirus cases over the week starting March 31, or on average about 324 new cases per day. Cases were up about 1.5 percent from the week prior.
Four new deaths were reported in the same week, bringing the total death toll in Missouri to at least 8,510.