Report: COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility to See a Major Expansion in Louisiana as Soon as Tuesday Afternoon
According to a report from The Advocate, a big expansion in coronavirus eligibility in Louisiana could be here sooner than later.
Advocate staff writer Megan Wyatt detailed the likely expansion in a Monday night article based on an email that was sent to roughly 400 Louisiana pharmacies from a representative of the Louisiana Independent Pharmacies Association.
According to the email, "adults of all ages" that are at the highest risk when it comes to COVID-19 will be included in the new vaccine priority group.
The new vaccine priority group, according to the email, would include adults of all ages who meet specific criteria that put them at increased risk for severe illness from the novel coronavirus.
Health conditions that qualify as high risk in the new priority group are as follows:
- moderate to severe asthma
- cerebrovascular disease
- cystic fibrosis
- hypertension or high blood pressure
- neurologic conditions, such as dementia
- liver disease
- overweight
- pulmonary fibrosis
- thalassemia
- type 1 diabetes mellitus
- immunocompromised state from blood or bone marrow transplant, immunodeficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
The Advocate report also states that vaccines would be made available to this new priority group "immediately after an official announcement" from Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards Tuesday (March 9) at noon.
The most recently updated criteria including age, list of qualifying conditions, and more statements from state officials on the reported vaccine expansion can be found in the full story here via The Advocate.
We will update this developing story as more confirmed information becomes available.