Illinois smokers are now among the priority groups eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
As part of the state’s vaccination schedule, residents with certain high-risk medical conditions – including smoking – can now get vaccinations, along with seniors and essential medical professionals.
The move to Phase 1B + went into effect on February 25. The expansion was made to “promote the state’s goal of equitable distribution” to communities of color, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health website.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, being a “current smoker or ex-smoker” puts you at greater risk of contracting serious illnesses from COVID-19.
CDC statistics show that 21% of Native Americans smoke, the highest level among demographic groups. Whites are next with 15.5%, followed by blacks (14.9%), Hispanics (9%) and Asians (7%).
“Smokers are much more vulnerable than normal people because smoking would compromise their immune system, fighting infections and bacteria,” said Dr. Samuel Kim, a chest surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
“Nicotine is an addictive drug. Instead of thinking of it as a habit and more as an addiction, I think more people will understand that decision, ”said Kim.
In addition to smoking, the medical conditions included include cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, heart disease, immunosuppressed states of a solid organ transplant, obesity, pregnancy, lung disease and sickle cell disease. The overall expansion will allow up to 3.4 million people in Illinois to receive vaccines, according to IDPH.
The CDC says that about 15.5% of adults in Illinois smoke, which may mean that more than 1.5 million smokers may be eligible.
Health officials in Chicago and the Cook suburban district, as well as in DuPage, Lake, Kane, McHenry and Will counties, said they still do not have enough vaccine to begin inoculating clinically vulnerable residents. However, other municipalities in the state have started to do so.
Some pharmacies, including Walgreens, have started vaccinating ill-health residents in Illinois.
In addition, a massive website that will be administered by the federal government at the United Center on the Near West Side will begin vaccinating people with health problems sometime after its inauguration on March 10, when it initially plans to limit vaccines to the elderly.
How websites that administer the vaccine check whether you have a priority medical condition depends on local health departments, said Governor JB Pritzker last week.
How they will verify that you are a smoker is unclear.
“In order to ensure that individuals are in the correct current phase for vaccines, residents may be asked to provide supporting documents for their status as essential workers or their underlying medical conditions,” Dr. Kiran Joshi, senior medical officer and co- leader in the Cook County Department of Public Health, said in a statement.
Walgreens requires those who sign up for appointments to certify online that they have a qualified health problem.
In New Jersey, no evidence or medical record is required to obtain the injection, the New York Times reported.
Despite the CDC’s designation of high-risk smoking, at least one other state, Oregon, has excluded smokers from the list of medical conditions that qualify someone to receive the vaccine, according to the Oregonian.
Chicagoans on Tuesday had mixed reactions by allowing smokers to join groups of people who could be vaccinated in Illinois, and pointed out that it can be easy to circumvent the system.
“If they are more at risk, I personally have no problem,” said Gabriela Torres, from Pilsen. “I don’t want people to die.”
Another resident of the neighborhood, Emily Abarquez, said she realized how some people can object, as smoking can be a “lifestyle choice”. She also questioned whether anyone could just start smoking and get the vaccine.
“If I really wanted the vaccine and knew that smokers would go before my group, I could start smoking a pack a day,” said Abarquez, who said personally that he does not care if smokers are given priority.
Brighton Park resident Javier Colin, who smoked a cigarillo on the street Tuesday, said, “To be honest, I don’t care,” that he could take priority. He said he has no plans to receive the vaccine now or in the future.