Coloradans 70 and older are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, Gov. Jared Polis said Wednesday, adjusting the state’s vaccination plan as parts of Colorado entered a new distribution phase.

Many areas of the state are entering Phase 1B, though some are still working on clearing the first phase, which included highest-risk health care workers as well as long-term care facility staff and residents, Polis said.

It will likely be four or five weeks before everyone 70 and older who wants the vaccine will have received their first dose, he added.

“If you’re 70 and up, you really, really, really, really should want it,” Polis said. He added that nearly 80% of COVID deaths are among those 70 and older. When they will get access to the vaccine depends on the supply in their area, the governor said.

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Phase 1B had included moderate-risk health care workers such as home health, hospice and dental workers, as well as emergency services personnel, firefighters, police, correctional workers and those in funeral services.

As of Wednesday that category was amended to include “frontline essential workers” in education, food, agriculture, manufacturing, public transit, grocery and public health, among other sectors, as well as direct care providers for Coloradans experiencing homelessness and some frontline journalists, in addition to those 70 and older.

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Workers who qualify under Phase 1B will likely be vaccinated at worksite-based clinics in the coming weeks.

People in Phase 2 — including those at high risk due to medical conditions and those ages 65-69 — will likely be vaccinated in late spring or early summer, he said, adding that a doctor’s note would be required for those qualifying due to a medical condition. The rest of the population is likely to be vaccinated this summer, he added, noting that the vaccine is likely to be available to children as young as 12 by then.

The adjustments to Colorado’s vaccine plan come after a previous revision in December dropped Colorado inmates from Phase 2.

After Polis twice said that inmates shouldn’t receive vaccinations before anyone else, the state released a finalized plan that didn’t contemplate inmates at all.

Instead, state officials have said that inmates will be judged alongside the rest of the population, without weighing their living circumstances. An inmate over 65 years old would be vaccinated along others in that age group; healthy, young inmates wouldn’t be in line for inoculation until the summer.

American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, which has sued for increased protections for inmates, including their early release, called it evidence of Polis’ indifference to prisoners’ health after outbreaks that infected 7,200 inmates, killing 24.