Smokers in Massachusetts may receive the COVID-19 vaccine as early as next month.
An adjustment in the state’s prioritization order moved residents with multiple health conditions considered high risk for COVID-19 to the first group eligible to receive the vaccine during Phase 2, which is scheduled to distribute more than one million vaccines. Smoking – along with obesity and type 2 diabetes – among the various diseases considered to be at higher risk for serious COVID disease.
Massachusetts is one of half a dozen states in the country that prioritize smokers in vaccination plans, including a state that made smokers immediately eligible this month.
In the coronavirus vaccine distribution plan announced by Massachusetts health officials in December, priority for the vaccine was given to high-risk residents due to their occupation, housing and health.
The first to receive the vaccine were health professionals who offer direct care to COVID patients. This includes not only doctors and nurses in hospitals, but also other support teams within the healthcare system that come into direct contact with COVID patients.
As a result, frontline health workers were residents and employees in long-term care facilities, nursing homes and assisted living facilities where COVID took the lives of many.
Tens of thousands of emergency medical service providers, police and firefighters were prioritized in third place to receive the vaccine, efforts that began in Massachusetts last week.
Residents and staff in collective houses, substance abuse treatment programs and emergency shelters, as well as prisoners, will receive the vaccine starting on Monday.
Massachusetts is expected to enter Phase 2 of the vaccine distribution plan in February. In Phase 2, residents with at least two health conditions that make them at high risk for complications COVID-19, elderly people aged 75 and over, and low-income residents and affordable housing for the elderly are prioritized to receive the vaccine first.
For high-risk conditions that qualify a resident to receive the vaccine, state health officials include a list of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC list includes a dozen conditions that put adults of any age at increased risk for serious COVID-19 disease:
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Down’s syndrome
- Heart problems, such as heart failure or coronary artery disease
- Immunocompromised state due to organ transplantation
- Obesity (body mass index [BMI] 30 kg / m2 or greater, but <40 kg / m2)
- Severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg / m2)
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell anemia
- Smoke
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
This group will be followed by teachers, transit operators and grocery workers, among other industries considered essential during the pandemic.
“Being a current smoker or ex-smoker increases the risk of serious illnesses caused by COVID-19,” says the CDC. Federal health officials have made no distinction between cigarettes and electronic cigarettes, which have become increasingly popular in recent years.
The list of underlying conditions has been updated throughout the pandemic to reflect recent studies that suggest which health problems increase an individual’s risk.
These updates have prompted some health officials to change their vaccine distribution plans.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced on Wednesday that about 2 million smokers in the state would immediately become eligible for the vaccine, in addition to the elderly and residents with a pre-existing disease.
Responding to criticism, Murphy called it a “cheap shot” on Friday, which some say smokers are skipping the line.
Other states include smokers in the COVID vaccination plans. As in New Jersey, smokers in Mississippi can get vaccinated earlier. In Alaska, Maine and North Carolina, smokers are included in the later stages.
Smoking rates have dropped significantly in recent years. About 30 years ago, about 24% of Massachusetts residents reported that they smoked daily or for a few days. In 2019, 12% identified themselves as smokers – about 4% less than the national average.
Governor Charlie Baker was asked on Wednesday about possible changes to the state’s implementation, following the new guidance issued by federal health officials this week.
“I know this is not popular, but I really hope that from the beginning, with the vaccine available, we can reach populations where life is most at risk and on which the health system depends and depends to provide care,” said Baker.
Massachusetts is scheduled to enter Phase 3 of the vaccine launch in April, when the general public is expected to be eligible. In the summer of 2021, most residents should have access to the vaccine.
By then, about 80% of the state’s population will be vaccinated – with the remaining 20% including children under 14, adults who cannot be vaccinated safely and those who choose not to receive the vaccine.
“It is our explicit goal that everyone who is clinically eligible will receive the vaccine,” said Dr. Paul Biddinger, chief of emergency preparedness at Massachusetts General Hospital and director of the Mass Disaster Medicine Center. General, during a press conference announcing the three-phase plan. The bidder serves as chairman of the Massachusetts COVID-19 Advisory Group, which helped determine vaccine allocation and distribution plans.
COVID-19 vaccines are being offered free of charge to all by federal health officials. Insurers have pledged not to charge out-of-pocket fees or co-payments related to vaccines and vaccine clinics.
When it becomes easier in the coming months, public vaccine clinics will be listed on the CDC website, vaccinefinder.org.
In addition to hospitals, the vaccine will be available in large clinics. Baker announced on Tuesday that Gillette Stadium will serve as the first major facility in the state.
The clinic will be open to the first respondents who receive the vaccine on Monday.
The facility is scheduled to start offering 300 vaccines a day, increasing to provide 5,000 a day, followed by “potentially much larger numbers,” Baker said on Tuesday.
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