Inhaling cancer batons can actually prevent you from getting sick in Pennsylvania – at least as far as COVID-19 is concerned.
The state is pushing smokers to the front of the vaccine line because the habit makes them more vulnerable to the disease, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said on Friday.
All people aged 16 to 64 with “high-risk medical conditions” – including cigarette addiction – have been added to the first phase of the Keystone State coronavirus vaccine distribution plan, reports WTAE-4.
“Pennsylvania has chosen to follow the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] recommendations and include smoking in the list of medical conditions that put individuals at greatest risk, ”a state health department official told the station.
Smokers are now eligible for life-saving vaccines, along with healthcare professionals, nursing residents and people aged 65 and over in Phase 1A of the plan.
It was not immediately clear how the state would check whether a person is a smoker, and a health department spokeswoman did not immediately return the Post’s request for comment on Friday.
The CDC’s Immunization Practices Advisory Committee recommends that people aged 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions be included in Phase 1C of the vaccine distribution plan. But each state is free to adjust the plan as it sees fit.
New Jersey and Mississippi are also offering the vaccine to smokers under the age of 65.