Puffing on cancer sticks can actually keep you from getting sick in Pennsylvania – at least when it comes to COVID-19.
The state is hitting smokers in front of the vaccination line because the habit makes you more vulnerable to the disease, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said Friday.
All people between the ages of 16 and 64 with “high-risk medical conditions” – including cigarette smoking – were added to the first phase of Keystone State’s coronavirus vaccine distribution plan, WTAE-4 reports.
“Pennsylvania has chosen to follow [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] recommendations and include smoking among the list of medical conditions that pose greater risks to individuals, “said a representative of the state health department.
Smokers are now eligible for life-saving vaccines, along with health workers, nursing home residents and people aged 65 and over in Phase 1A of the plan.
It was not immediately clear how the state will check if a person is a smoker, and a health department spokeswoman did not immediately return The Post’s comment request on Friday.
The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that people between the ages of 16 and 64 with high-risk medical conditions be included in Phase 1C of the vaccine allocation plan. But each state is free to change the plan however it sees fit.
New Jersey and Mississippi currently offer the vaccine to smokers under the age of 65.