First-time eligible Bridgeport residents received their vaccine today.  

Jimmy Lopez, 20, of Bridgeport, says he has patiently been waiting for this day to come.

"I was waiting for a while. I've been wanting to get it, I know most people don't want to get it because they're afraid. But I said I could really use it," Lopez says.

Hartford HealthCare eligibility
Hartford HealthCare Bridgeport residents only
Yale New Haven Health eligibility
Stamford Health eligibility

Lopez is one of more than a million people in Connecticut who are now eligible for a COVID vaccine.

As of today, anyone 16 and older who lives or works in the state can make an appointment.

However, most people tell News 12 they are striking out on the VAMS online portal.

"I was unsuccessful because there's no appointment times. There's literally no appointment times anywhere in Connecticut," Lopez says.

Lopez says he got an alert on his phone informing him he could get a shot today at the Bridgeport Health Department with no appointment needed.

"It said that Hartford HealthCare services are giving a vaccine for people who are 18 and older. I took the opportunity and said, alright, I'm off of school today, I don't have work, so I came in," Lopez says.

His older brother was along with him, and he is also now eligible.

The line of people wrapped around the parking lot.

The shots in the arms are made possible through FEMA's mobile vaccine clinic.

The mobile clinic is making five stops in Bridgeport to get more of the city's residents vaccinated.

"Nobody leaves without a shot or appointment. We have not run into the situation where we've run out of walk-up options, we'll be increasing our dosage to over 400 beginning tomorrow," Tiffany Rodriguez, of Hartford HealthCare, says.

The FEMA mobile vaccine clinic will be in Bridgeport through Wednesday. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is being offered to Bridgeport residents 18 and older.