Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced Monday, March 29, that everyone in the state 16 and older will be eligible for a coronavirus vaccine starting Friday, weeks earlier than initially planned.

The state had been planning to open vaccine eligibility to the general public starting in mid-April. Colorado will join at least 12 other states across the country that have expanded eligibility to the general population or will do so by the end of the week.

Children under the age of 16 will be the only population group in the state ineligible for vaccination starting Friday. Clinical trials in kids are underway for several of the vaccines currently approved for adults. It could take until the end of this year or early next year before those trials are completed and shots are authorized for children.

As of Monday, more than 1.58 million Coloradans had received at least a first dose of coronavirus vaccine. More than 950,000 Coloradans were considered fully immunized. In Summit County, 11,676 have received at least one dose, with 6,789 being fully vaccinated.

Sign up at CoMassVax.org.

Read more at ColoradoSun.com.