NEW ORLEANS — Thousands of healthcare providers in Louisiana have gotten the COVID-19 vaccine and those outside of the hospital setting are beginning to receive the shot, too.
Next up: nursing homes. Older Louisianans in congregate settings, and those who care for them, are on deck to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the coming days.
At a press conference earlier this week, Dr. Joe Kanter of the Louisiana Department of Health said each vaccination is one step closer to ending the pandemic.
“And as we watch those numbers go up, the people that get the vaccine, it’s like watching the mile markers go down as you drive south. One step closer to where we want to be,” said Dr. Kanter.
The CDC has outlined four phases for distributing the COVID-19 vaccine.
In Phase One is high-risk healthcare workers, first responders, older adults in congregate settings, and other people at very high risk.
Next is other older people, critical workers in high-risk settings, and K-12 teachers and staff.
But children aren’t listed until the CDC’s third phase.
But both Moderna and Pfizer have just started testing the vaccine in kids as young as 12, and it’s unclear if those tests will be done by next school year.
Both NOLA Public Schools and Jefferson Parish Public Schools tell Eyewitness News that it’s just too early to say if the vaccine would be required for students.
The Louisiana Department of Health makes the call on vaccination requirements and then hands down guidance to public schools.
Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino tells WWL-TV that with some exceptions, Louisiana employers could likely legally require you to get the vaccine when the time comes.
“By and large, most people are at will employees in Louisiana and the request, in light of all the science is a reasonable one, so most employees are either going to have to do it or suffer the consequences,” said Ciolino.
Low-risk adults are slated for vaccination in phase 4. And as COVID cases climb in Louisiana, vaccine experts like Tulane University’s Dr. Lisa Morici says it may be the only way we get back to normal.
“We were just hoping that these vaccines would provide 50 percent protection to people that got them… but it looks like they’re almost perfect. I mean, it’s really really amazing,” said Dr. Morici.
