EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin (WEAU) – A large group of Wisconsin residents will be newly eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced Thursday.
The new group includes individuals with medical conditions associated with an increased risk of severe COVID-19 disease aged 16 years and over. The medical conditions included in the new eligibility group are:
- Asthma (moderate to severe)
- Cancer
- Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain)
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Cystic fibrosis
- Down syndrome
- Heart conditions such as heart failure, coronary heart disease or cardiomyopathies
- High blood pressure or high blood pressure
- Immunocompromised condition (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplantation, blood or bone marrow transplantation, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids or use of other medicines to weaken immunity
- Liver disease
- Neurological conditions, such as dementia
- Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30-39 kg / m2)
- Overweight (BMI of 25-29 kg / m2)
- Task
- Pulmonary fibrosis (with damaged or scarred lung tissue)
- Severe obesity (BMI 40 kg / m2 or more)
- Sickle disease
- Type 1 or type 2 diabetes
- Thalassemia (a type of blood disorder)
“It’s based on the best evidence we have about medical conditions that make someone more vulnerable to serious illness or death,” said DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk.
The new eligible group will be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine starting March 29. This does not mean that all those eligible will be vaccinated immediately.
“Please be patient. Even if we know that people are eligible, it will take some time during April and early May to reach all of these groups, ”said Lieske Giese, director of Eau Claire’s health department.
According to a DHS statement, more than 2 million Wisconsin residents are newly eligible with this announcement.
Depending on the available vaccine supply, DHS says it expects the general population of Wisconsin to become eligible sometime in May.
Due to the large number of newly eligible individuals, DHS adds that in places where the vaccine is low, providers can give priority to people who are considered at higher risk among the eligibility groups.
Healthcare providers may need to be under-prioritized within these groups and may consider factors such as people with severe or unstable conditions, racial or ethnic groups, old age or people with multiple conditions, Willems Van Dijk said.
A local supplier will not give priority under group 1C. Dr. Ken Johnson, Prevea’s chief physician, said it was too difficult to determine which of the listed medical conditions deserved priority status.
“When I examine the list of medical conditions that now become eligible on March 29, it would be very difficult to stratify which of those people should be vaccinated in what order, so we will continue to administer the vaccine based on who the state says is eligible. and then who signs up, ”he said.
The Marshfield Clinic said it would continue to give priority to people already on its waiting list to get vaccinated.
The Mayo Clinic said it has not yet decided how it will give priority to people who fall into 1C.
Giese said the Eau Claire City-County Health Department will not give priority to people in 1C for its vaccination clinics, but its focus is now on vaccinating teachers.
Johnson, however, said that eligible people should not wait to register for a meeting.
“As long as the slots are available, I think it’s important for us to administer every dose of vaccine we have available,” he said. “So I don’t want to get to the end of the week and have 500 photos that I didn’t give because people were waiting.”
Johnson said the number of appointments and vaccine people receive at Prevea Health is determined by what the state offers each week.
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