To date, the state of Alabama has made the COVID-19 vaccine available to more than half of the state’s adult population and can open the floodgates to offer the vaccine to all adults in the coming weeks.
Alabama health official Dr. Scott Harris said on Friday that “probably between half and two-thirds” of the state’s adult population would be eligible for the vaccine starting today.
“We think this will more than double the number of qualified people in our state,” said Harris on Friday. “Probably between half and two-thirds of all adults in the state will be served at this point, so that there will be a significant increase in demand.”
The following groups of people are now eligible for the vaccine across the state:
- Any alabamian aged 55 or over
- Various categories of essential workers (health care, first responders, educators and child care workers, food workers, legal, energy, media, others)
Also eligible are Alabamians over 16 years of age with certain health conditions that place them at a higher risk of COVID-19. These conditions include:
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD
- Cardiac conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies; immunocompromised state
- Solid organ transplantation
- Obesity, BMI greater than 30
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell anemia
- Smoke
- Type 1 and 2 diabetes
- Other medical conditions, as determined by your medical provider
In addition, Alabama veterans of any age can receive the vaccine at some VA hospitals.
All groups identified as a priority in Alabama’s vaccine allocation plan are now officially eligible to receive the vaccine. The next phase of the plan will open it to all Alabamians aged 16 and over.
Harris said on Friday that Alabama would offer the vaccine to the general population before the May 1 deadline set by President Joe Biden, and “it could be much earlier.”
Mississippi and Alaska already offer the vaccine to all adults, and other states, including Nevada, Connecticut, Ohio, Utah and North Dakota have already announced plans to do so in the coming weeks.
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control, Alabama administered more than 1.4 million doses of the vaccine on Monday morning. The CDC reported that more than 967,000 Alabamians – 25.4% of the state’s adult population – received at least one dose of the vaccine. More than 566,000 alabamians received the full vaccination course.
There are currently three COVID vaccine options that have received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, made by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require a second dose, administered weeks after the first, but have reported better overall efficacy results in clinical trials than the Johnson & Johnson single dose vaccine.
The vaccine has not yet been approved for children, so only those over 16 are eligible. Studies are underway to determine the safety and efficacy of vaccines in people under the age of 16.
All three vaccines were highly effective in preventing severe cases of COVID-19, including hospitalizations and deaths.
COVID-19 killed more than 10,400 Alabamians and more than 539,000 people in the United States.