Governor John Bel Edwards’ administration has quietly added new groups of people to the next vaccine priority phase, giving vaccine priority to clerics, veterinarians and faculty and college and university staff.
The University of Louisiana System, in an email to its faculty, said the Louisiana Department of Health had added professors and higher education officials to “Phase 1B Level 2” of the vaccine launch. The state is currently in “Phase 1B, Level 1” and it is unclear when Edwards plans to move to the next level.
See who is now eligible for coronavirus vaccines in Louisiana: teachers, pregnant women, more
The e-mail cited an LDH memo dated February 18 that made two unannounced changes by Edwards last week when he reorganized the current group of people eligible to add K-12 teachers and others. The memo said the clergy and “institutes of teachers and higher education officials” were among the next level of eligible people. Veterinarians and staff were also added.
An LDH spokesman confirmed the change on Monday.
The state had already placed “judicial personnel”, correctional officers and jailers, agricultural and food processing workers, veterinarians and officials, postal personnel and others in the next group.
The date of when this group will receive the vaccine has not yet been announced.
Louisiana expanding coronavirus vaccine eligibility for elementary and high school teachers, people with health problems
Edwards said last week that he would add elementary and middle school teachers and staff and daycare centers, along with pregnant women and people aged 55 to 64 with a list of specific health conditions, to the current eligibility group. People aged 65 and over have already had access to the vaccine.
Louisiana received more than 90,000 doses of the vaccine this week, an increase from previous weeks that Edwards cited as a reason why he was expanding priority groups. A number of interest groups – including state and federal judges – have urged the governor to prioritize themselves or their employees for immunizations.