(Newser)
– Across the United States, millions of medically vulnerable people who were initially cited as one of the top priority groups in vaccination have been slowly reduced to the list as the CDC amended its guidelines to benefit the elderly, regardless of their physical condition, and workers from a wide range of labor sectors, according to the PA. North Carolina is just one of 24 states that currently places people under the age of 65 with “underlying medical conditions” at the bottom of the package to receive the vaccine, according to Jen Kates of the Kaiser Family Foundation. A report he wrote last month included Pennsylvania as the only state to offer vaccines to medically vulnerable people during its first phase of distribution. When North Carolina unveiled its initial orientation in October, it placed people with multiple chronic conditions at the top of the list. In response to the CDC’s December recommendations to prioritize people 75 and older, however, it left people with chronic conditions in phase 2.
When the targeting changed again to extend eligibility to those 65 and older, medically vulnerable residents learned in January that they would move on to Phase 4, to be vaccinated after “essential front-line workers.” but before “all.” The state’s top public health official says these residents went off the list after health officials received data showing older residents are much more likely to die from COVID-19. Responding to the frustrations of these patients, states are once again reviewing their guidelines. As of Monday, 28 states, including North Carolina, had at least partially opened the statewide vaccine eligibility to those with high-risk medical conditions, Kates says. Four other states are making the vaccine available to medically vulnerable residents living in certain counties. Maura Wozniak, a 42-year-old Charlotte area resident who has cystic fibrosis, cried with relief after learning she might soon be eligible. “At least now there’s a certain window,” he says.
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