Louisiana is expanding its coronavirus vaccine eligibility requirements to include K-12 teachers, pregnant women and more.
The move allows an additional 475,000 people to get vaccines.
This expansion brings the total number of people eligible for a vaccine to more than 1.5 million of Louisiana’s 4.6 million residents.
With the harsh winter still hampering Louisiana’s vaccination efforts, Governor John Bel Edwards said on Thursday that he will expand eligibility for …
Previously, it was offered to people aged 65 and over. John Bel Edwards had reduced the eligible age from 70 to 65 two weeks ago.
There have been 812,962 doses of coronavirus vaccines administered throughout Louisiana since the launch on December 14. There are now 271,216 people who are fully vaccinated. Vaccines require two doses every few weeks.
The latest expansion in eligibility will begin on Monday.
News@LouisianaGovadds 475,000 people to the vaccine’s eligibility. Primary / secondary school teachers / staff are the headings on the list. #lalege #lagov pic.twitter.com/m4cLNBx5mk
– Sam Karlin (@samkarlin) February 18, 2021
These are the new eligible on Monday:
- Teachers and support staff working on site in elementary and high schools and daycare centers
- All pregnant people
- Non-emergency medical transport providers and staff
- People aged 55 to 64 with one or more health conditions defined by the CDC
- Cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, Down syndrome, heart disease, immunocompromised state by solid organ transplantation, obesity, severe obesity, sickle cell disease, smoking, type 2 diabetes mellitus
The vaccine is now available for:
(information provided by the Louisiana Department of Health.)
- People aged 65 and over
- Unified command group
- COVID-19 state and local emergency response personnel and law enforcement officers
- March and April election workers
- People aged 70 and over in the community
- Support staff related to health (laboratories, morgue, pharmacy)
- Outpatient providers and clinical staff
- Urgent care clinic providers and staff
- Community care clinic providers and staff
- Behavioral health professionals and providers
- Dialysis providers and recipients
- Home care providers (including hospice employees) and home care beneficiaries (including older and young people with disabilities over 16 receiving community or home care, as well as clients of home health agencies)
- Dental service providers and staff
- American Sign Language Interpreters (ASL) and support service providers (SSPs) working in community and clinical settings, and deaf and blind customers
- Students, residents, teachers and employees of allied health schools (if they are not yet receiving a vaccine or in a plan to receive it from their respective schools).