MADISON, Wisconsin (WMTV) – On Thursday, the Department of Health Services released a new guideline to determine who would be eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine when eligibility expanded later this month.
Unlike previous rounds, which were mainly determined by age or occupation, the latter depends solely on medical history, more specifically if someone has a medical condition associated with a greater risk of serious illness if they contract COVID-19.
To qualify for this latest expansion, an individual would have to have at least one of the 20 medical conditions included in a list released by the agency on Thursday. DHS estimated that more than two million people in Wisconsin would qualify.
Three of the conditions listed are related to the Body Mass Index (BMI), a statistic often cited to determine whether someone is overweight or obese. With the new metrics, anyone with a BMI above 25 kg / m2 would be eligible to receive the vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer a tool to help people estimate their BMI by entering their height and weight. He defines a BMI between 25 and 30 as “overweight”, while anything above 30 as “obese”. In addition, for DHS listings, a number over 40 is considered “severe obesity”.
The full list of medical conditions that would determine whether someone is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine is available here.
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