NEW ORLEANS — Xuan Poree and her mother Deborah can now exercise in City Park again.
Deborah just got her COVID-19 vaccine.
“I was inside all the time and I was just bored,” Deborah Poree said. “So, I got the Johnson and Johnson (vaccine) so I can come out. I can hug my grandchildren next week.”
Xuan has been waiting to get the vaccine and now she can.
She has asthma.
That makes her eligible for the shot, according to new state guidelines released Tuesday.
"It will put me at ease,” Xuan Poree said. “That way I know I’m not spreading it and I’m not putting anybody at risk.”
Governor John Bel Edwards announced people 16 and older with certain medical conditions that put them at greater risk for severe illness from the Coronavirus can now receive the vaccine.
He said they decided to widen the eligibility immediately after hearing from providers that they are ready and able to accommodate more people.
“What we know is the more people who get vaccinated and the faster this happens, to more life will return to normal and we are certainly not back at normal yet,” Edwards said.
The governor revealed COVID numbers have stopped improving in Louisiana.
He said in every previous instance when that’s happened, there was another surge.
“We don’t want there to be another surge,” Edwards said. “We certainly don’t want any increase in cases to be among those people who are more vulnerable.”
The state is now expecting the supply of vaccines to remain steady at more than 100,000 new doses a week.
“We also have had a very stable supply, especially of the Moderna and the Pfizer, so we feel comfortable about what’s coming ahead,” Edwards said.
The governor said Louisiana may see more Johnson and Johnson single-dose vaccines toward the end of this month.
Back in City Park, people who have already gotten the vaccine encourage those newly eligible not to pass up the opportunity.
“I think it’s a great opportunity and everyone should take advantage of it and stay safe for themselves, not only them but their families and everyone that’s around them,” Belton Brister said.
“I feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel,” Sidney Cole said. “I think the more people who can get vaccinated the better.”
Deborah Poree agrees getting the vaccine is important.
“The other option is to die if you have an underlying problem and you get the COVID,” Poree said. “I got the shot because I want to live.”
The new guidelines greatly increase the pool of eligible people in the state.
Appointments are still required to get the vaccine.
Louisianans who are 16 and 17 years old and who have one of the CDC-defined conditions are only eligible to get the Pfizer vaccine, which is the only currently available vaccine approved for people younger than 18.
Here is the list of conditions.
- Asthma (moderate to severe)
- Cancer
- Cerebrovascular disease
- Chronic kidney disease
- Chronic liver disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Cystic fibrosis
- Severe neurologic conditions such as dementia
- Down Syndrome
- Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies
- Hypertension
- Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant
- Immunocompromised state from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
- Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30kg/m2 or higher but < 40kg/m2)
- Severe obesity (BMIC >40kg/m2)
- Overweight (BMI 25-30 kg/m2)
- Pregnancy
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Sickle Cell Disease
- Smoking
- Thalassemia (a type of blood disorder)
- Type 1 diabetes
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
