It’s the $64 million question: Can I, or can’t I?
Can I get the COVID-19 vaccine yet, or do I still have to wait for production to ramp up before I qualify?
That seemingly simple question is creating no small amount of confusion, and not just among those eager to be vaccinated but inside the medical establishment as well.
(That includes at St. Tammany Parish Health System, which – out of eagerness to protect the local community – intended to expand vaccine eligibility Tuesday morning to those 65 and older, only to learn it would have to wait a little longer to do so.)
It doesn’t help that different states have different sets of rules. In Arizona you have to be 75 or older to get the vaccine. In Mississippi, it’s 65 or older. In Kansas, they’re still trying to vaccinate healthcare workers and have yet to move on to age-based eligibility.
In Louisiana, the long and short of it is this:
Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging states to administer the vaccine to those 65 and older, the limited supply has the Louisiana Department of Health restricting the vaccine to the following groups, as of midday Tuesday (Jan. 19):
- People ages 70 years or older in the community,
- Outpatient clinic providers and clinic staff,
- Urgent care clinic providers and staff,
- Community care clinic providers and staff,
- Behavioral health providers and staff,
- Dialysis providers and patients,
- Home health service providers and recipients,
- Dental providers and staff, and
- Students, residents, faculty and staff of allied health schools (if not already receiving vaccine or in a plan to receive from their respective schools)
As supplies ramp up, the age of those eligible will be lowered, to allow more people to be protected. Watch this space for updates on that front as they are available.
But for the moment, 70 is still the magic number.
[ READ MORE ON COVID-19 IN ST. TAMMANY HERE ]