EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin (WEAU) – A large group of Wisconsin residents will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced Thursday.
The new group includes people with medical conditions associated with an increased risk of serious illness from COVID-19 from 16 years. The medical conditions included in the new eligibility group are:
- Asthma (moderate to severe)
- Cancer
- Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain)
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Cystic fibrosis
- Down syndrome
- Heart conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies
- Hypertension or hypertension
- Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) due to solid organ transplantation, blood or bone marrow transplantation, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids or use of other drugs to weaken immunity
- Liver disease
- Neurological conditions, such as dementia
- Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30-39 kg / m2)
- Overweight (BMI from 25 to 29 kg / m2)
- Pregnancy
- Pulmonary fibrosis (with damaged lung tissue or scars)
- Severe obesity (BMI 40 kg / m2 or more)
- Sickle cell disease
- Type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus
- Thalassemia (a type of blood disorder)
“It’s based on the best evidence we have about what medical conditions make someone more vulnerable to serious illness or death,” said DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk.
The newly eligible group will be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine from March 29. This does not mean that everyone who is eligible will be vaccinated immediately.
“Please be patient. While we know people are eligible, it will take some time during the months of April and early May to reach all of these groups, ”said Lieske Giese, director of the City and County Health Department. ‘Eau Claire.
According to a DHS statement, more than 2 million Wisconsin residents are recently eligible with this announcement.
Depending on the available supply of vaccines, DHS says they expect the general population of Wisconsin to be eligible sometime in May.
Because of the large number of newly eligible individuals, DHS adds that in places where the vaccine is scarce, providers can prioritize people who are considered most at risk among eligibility groups.
“Healthcare providers may need to prioritize these groups and may consider factors such as people with severe or unstable conditions, racial or ethnic groups, old age, or people with multiple conditions,” Willems Van Dijk said. .
A local provider will not prioritize group 1C. The Chief Medical Officer of Prevea Health, Dr. Ken Johnson said it is too difficult to determine which of the listed medical conditions deserve priority.
“When you look at the list of medical conditions that are now eligible on March 29, it would be very difficult to stratify which of these people should be vaccinated in what order, so we will continue to make the vaccine based on who the state says who is eligible and then who signs up, ”he said.
The Marshfield Clinic said it would still prioritize people who were already on the waiting list to get vaccinated.
Mayo Clinic said it has not yet decided how it will prioritize people who fall into 1C.
Giese said the City and Eau Claire County Department of Health will not prioritize 1C people for their vaccine clinics, but that right now it is focusing on vaccinating teachers.
Johnson, however, said eligible people should not wait to sign up for an appointment.
“As long as there are spaces available, I think it’s important for us to give every dose of vaccine I have available,” he said. “So I don’t want to get to the end of the week and have 500 shots that I didn’t give because people were waiting.”
Johnson said the number of appointments and vaccine people receive at Prevea Health is determined by what the state provides each week.
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