Beginning next week, Texans who are age 50 or older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Texas Department of State Health Services announced Wednesday the vaccinations would be expanded to people ages 50 to 64 years old beginning March 15.

This phase is being labeled as 1C, which follows 1A (frontline health care workers), 1B (people 65 and older or those 16 and older with a chronic health condition) and school and child care workers.

The announcement was made due to greater risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19 in those who are age 50 and above.

According to DSHS, 93% of the Texas fatalities directly caused by COVID-19 have been in people 50 and older, with people ages 50 to 64 accounting for 20% of all fatalities.

DSHS said adding this group will reduce the number of people who are hospitalized and die from the disease across all races, ethnicities and occupations.

Decisions regarding vaccine allocation categories are made by the state’s Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel, which is made of a team of public health experts developing vaccine allocation strategies and recommendations to the state health commissioner.

Dr. Paul McGaha, Smith County health authority, is among those who are a part of the panel.

“We’ve seen a remarkable decrease in the number of hospitalizations and deaths since people 65 and older started becoming fully vaccinated in January,” said Imelda Garcia, DSHS associate commissioner for laboratory and infectious disease services and chair of the Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel. “Expanding to ages 50 to 64 will continue the state’s priorities of protecting those at the greatest risk of severe outcomes and preserving the state’s health care system.”

According to DSHS, over half of Texas seniors have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine, and 30% are fully vaccinated.

The number of COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals has fallen by two-thirds from its peak in mid-January. In Texas, there are about 5 million people between the ages of 50 and 64, and over 1 million of them are already vaccinated, DSHS said.

EVAP is expected to continue to meet and make recommendations about the further allocation and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. Over 7 million doses have been administered in Texas, including 4.7 million people who have at least one dose and 2.5 million who are fully vaccinated.