Governor John Bel Edwards is expected to greatly expand access to COVID-19 vaccines in Louisiana today – adding people with more than 20 health problems and those working in prisons and prisons to the list of those eligible to receive them.
Healthcare providers who did not want to be named shared an expanded list of eligibility on Louisiana Department of Health letterhead with Louisiaina Illuminator. An Edwards government official confirmed that the governor intended to expand access to the vaccine to these groups on Tuesday.
How Louisiana Illuminator reports, in addition to opening vaccine eligibility to people in better health, Louisiana will also allow people who work in large group life situations – in jails, prisons, group homes, homeless shelters, drugs and elsewhere – get the vaccine today.
Edwards instituted a very narrow set of criteria for vaccine distribution until this week, in an effort to ensure that older people have the opportunity to be vaccinated first. In Louisiana, more than 68% of the people who died of COVID-19 were over 70 years old and 50% were over 76 years old.
But last week, health care providers reported having hundreds of extra vaccines at some major vaccination sites in New Orleans. The lower demand for the vaccine – coupled with an expected increase in supply – probably contributed to the governor’s decision to expand eligibility in the future. See the full list of conditions.