In neighboring Prince Georges County, officials said county-run vaccination clinics expanded eligibility as of Monday to include senior citizens ages 65-74 and some additional categories of essential workers.
Bowser also announced the lifting of some restrictions on gatherings and entertainment, and said she hopes broader vaccination will make it possible to loosen more limits on businesses and social activities.
The number of deaths and hospitalizations from the coronavirus continues to decline, but case rates have remained steady in recent weeks after plunging significantly from a winter holiday spike.
We have not crushed the virus in this city or this nation, Bowser said. Still, she said she had reasons to be optimistic that the vaccine would curb new infections enough to make resuming some activities less risky.
There are more and more things that we can do today, she said. There will be even more things that we can do as spring evolves, as we get later in the calendar.
Coronavirus cases, deaths and vaccinations in D.C., Maryland, Virginia
Outdoor gatherings in the District can now include 50 people, up from 25, while indoor events are still capped at 10. As of Monday, some high school sports can resume, along with indoor fitness classes, also capped at 10 people.
Professional sports can resume with a waiver and can apply to host fans after March 22. The city on Monday approved a request from DC United, the professional mens soccer franchise, to resume operating at Audi Field at 10 percent capacity, or 2,000 fans. The city also approved the Washington Nationals request for a waiver to resume playing baseball at Nationals Park in front of up to 5,000 fans.
Bars in the District once again can serve alcohol until midnight, and movie theaters can reopen at 25 percent capacity or hosting 25 moviegoers, whichever is lower.
After March 29, 18 D.C. public libraries will resume indoor operations, including computer access for members of the public. The District will host socially distant camps for children ages 3 to 13 this summer, with registration opening March 22.
High schools can also host extracurriculars such as band and choir, Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt said, but she recommends 10 feet of distance during such activities because singing is a strong spreader of the coronavirus.
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In the meantime, the city will open vaccine appointments to more essential workers, starting on Monday with in-person court staff and lawyers, transit and postal workers and restaurant workers.
Eligibility expands to ride-share drivers and journalists working in person on March 29, and higher education workers and construction workers on April 12.
Becoming eligible does not mean an appointment will materialize immediately, since the supply of vaccine doses from the federal government remains limited although it is expected to surge in April.
More than 114,000 people have registered on the citys new vaccine website, which opened last week. Bowser said 68,700 of them are not actually eligible for the vaccine under current criteria. The city has been receiving about 24,000 vaccine doses a week.
Every senior who registered last week was offered an appointment, and 67 percent of them accepted. Nesbitt said some seniors had already found appointments elsewhere, such as through a health clinic.
Among adults with qualifying health conditions who registered for a shot, 45 percent of those in Zip codes that the city is prioritizing were offered an appointment in the first week. Among those in other Zip codes, the portion offered appointments was much lower.
On Monday, the region reported 1,859 new cases of the virus: 1,130 in Virginia, 617 in Maryland and 112 in D.C. The reported death toll climbed to 19,157, with 41 new deaths in Virginia, seven in Maryland and one in the District.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and his wife, Pam, received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine on Monday. Virginia National Guard troops who are launching mobile vaccination teams this week administered the shots.
These vaccines are safe, effective, and our way out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Northam said in a statement.
The expanded vaccine eligibility in Prince Georges County includes high-risk essential workers, such as grocery store, Postal Service and public transit employees, in addition to people ages 65-74.
Those groups were already eligible to get the vaccine, according to Maryland state guidelines, which means they could seek appointments at hospitals in Prince Georges and at the mass vaccination clinic at Six Flags in Upper Marlboro. But now they can get appointments at country-run clinics, too.
Prince Georges County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D) said Monday that individuals who live or work in Prince Georges and have preregistered with the health department would begin to receive appointments. She said seniors 75 and older will continue to be prioritized.
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Our vaccination rates have increased significantly over the past several weeks, and Im encouraging everyone who is in Phase 1C to make sure youre preregistered, Alsobrooks said in a statement.
People in Phases 2 and 3 of eligibility can also fill out the countys preregistration form and will be contacted when Prince Georges enters those phases.
Prince Georgians have been vaccinated at the lowest rate in the state, obtaining just 11 percent of the vaccine appointments at Six Flags between Feb. 5 and 27, according to a state analysis, even though the amusement park is in the county.
Just 10.7 percent of residents in Prince Georges, a suburb of nearly 1 million that is 84 percent Black and Latino, had received their first shot as of last week, compared with 18 percent of all Maryland residents.
The state of Maryland announced Monday that it would begin setting aside thousands of appointments at its large-scale vaccination sites for people who live in those communities.
The allotment 2,100 shots per week at each location could grow if supply increases. Appointments must be scheduled through the states preregistration system.
Prince Georges residents can make appointments at the Six Flags location, which was announced last week. Baltimore City residents can secure the appointments at M&T Bank Stadium. Residents in multiple counties surrounding the sites in Waldorf, Salisbury and Hagerstown can access those appointments.
There is no set-aside for residents of Montgomery County, the states most populous and home to the highest number of coronavirus deaths, where officials have been pressuring the state to launch a mass vaccination site. Montgomerys county-run clinics have entered the first tier of Phase 1C, which includes seniors ages 65 to 74 but no additional categories of essential workers.
Maryland also launched a pilot program this week to let primary care doctors distribute the vaccine to elderly and high-risk patients. Seventeen primary care offices across the state were selected to receive 100 doses each of the Moderna vaccine.
State officials say the program will expand as supply increases.
Erin Cox contributed to this report.
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