NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced a major expansion of the COVID-19 vaccine eligibility on Tuesday, exactly one year after the first case of the disease in the state was confirmed.
Louisiana residents 16 years old and older with certain pre-existing health conditions will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, Edwards said. The conditions listed put patients living with them at a higher risk of contracting or facing severe symptoms from the virus.
The updated eligibility means hundreds of thousands of residents can now get the vaccine starting immediately.
Those conditions are:
- Asthma
- Cancer
- Cerebrovascular disease
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Down Syndrome
- Heart conditions
- High blood pressure
- Immunocompromised
- immunocompromised state from solid organ transplant
- liver disease
- neurological conditions
- overweight
- Obesity
- pulmonary fibrosis
- severe obesity
- Sickel cell disease
- smoking
- Thalassemia
- Type 1 Diabetes mellitus
- Type 2 Diabetes mellitus
Appointments are always required to receive the vaccine. Individuals with one or more of these conditions will need to complete a form from the vaccine provider certifying that they have the condition.
"it is extremely important that people be honest and that only the people who have these conditions or in this age range avail themselves of this vaccine," Edwards said.
For more information about where to schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine, visit covidvaccine.la.gov.
Edwards said the move to expand the vaccine eligibility comes after vaccine providers said there was room to accommodate more residents. These new guidelines would greatly increase the pool of eligible people in the state, although exact numbers aren't available.
Edwards said that those 16 or 17 years old will only have access to the Pfizer vaccine because it is the only COVID-19 vaccine currently authorized for younger people.
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