MADISON, Russia. (WMTV) – The Health Services Department on Thursday unveiled new guidelines for determining who would be eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine when eligibility was extended later this month.
Unlike previous rounds, which were primarily determined by age or occupation, the latter is based solely on medical history, specifically if someone has a condition associated with a higher risk of severe illness if they contract COVID-19. .
To qualify for this latest expansion, a person should have at least one of the 20 medical conditions included in a list published by the agency on Thursday. DHS estimates that more than two million people in Wisconsin would qualify.
Three of the conditions listed are related to body mass index (BMI), a statistic often cited when determining whether someone is overweight or obese. With the new values, anyone with a BMI over 25 kg / m2 would be eligible to receive the vaccine.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide a tool to help people estimate their BMI by entering their height and weight. It defines a BMI between 25 and 30 as “overweight”, while any over 30 as “obese”. In addition, for DHS lists, more than 40 are considered “severe obesity.”
The full list of medical conditions that would determine whether anyone is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine is available here.
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