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There can be some confusion over who is eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, and it depends on where you get the vaccine.
Stocks of COVID-19 vaccine are expected to become more abundant in the near future, and locations to distribute it are increasing. But there can be some confusion over who is eligible for the vaccine, and it depends on where you get the vaccine.
Virginia
For example, in Virginia, different groups of essential frontline workers are eligible for the vaccine depending on where the vaccines are administered. As in Maryland, jurisdictions in Virginia independently decide which groups are eligible for the vaccine and when.
The Virginia Department of Health approved vaccinations for priority groups during phase 1b.
There are 11 categories of essential frontline workers in Phase 1b of Virginia, which also includes people 65 and older, 16-64 year olds with high-risk health conditions or disabilities that increase their risk of serious illness from COVID-19, and people working or living in prisons, homeless shelters and migrant labor camps.
The list of medical conditions considered to be high risk is updated regularly as new data becomes available, and it can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Your health care provider may make judgments about conditions that “may present an increased risk” for serious illness from the virus.
In Fairfax County, three of eleven groups of essential frontline workers are now eligible for vaccines: first responders, daycare and school staff, and correctional and homeless shelter workers. The county expects to announce eligibility for the rest of the Phase 1b categories in an “unspecified” future, adding that it may take months to pass Phase 1b.
Alexandria has everyone on the VDH essential worker list vaccinated, including, for example, letter carriers and grocery store workers, as well as people in phase 1a (healthcare workers), people aged 65 and over. years and older and people 16 to 64 years of age with underlying medical conditions. conditions.
The Central Virginia Health District in Lynchburg held a closed POD (distribution point) for manufacturing employees on Saturday, administering more than 1,700 doses during the day, VDH spokesperson Logan Anderson said. .
“As the vaccine supply grows, VDH will expand to other groups of essential frontline workers, in the order listed on the fact sheet. The next priority is food and agriculture (including vets), followed by manufacturing, ”said Anderson.
You can pre-register at the state site (although Fairfax County does not participate), or call 855-VAX-IN-VA.
Maryland
In Maryland, all categories up to Phase 1c are eligible, according to the State Department of Health – but vaccine stocks are limited.
Individual counties, and even state contracted providers within counties, make independent decisions about whether to allow different priority groups to register for vaccine appointments.
The Montgomery County Health Department, for example, only makes appointments under the Phase 1c, Level 1 priority group: This opens the vaccine to people aged 65 to 74.
Anyone with questions about eligibility can call the Maryland Hotline at 855-MD-GoVAX.
DC
In Washington, the city runs vaccinations for people under what it has designated as the first level of Phase 1c, which includes 16 and 17 year olds with qualifying medical conditions such as asthma and obesity. The full list of eligible medical conditions, as noted above, can be found on the CDC’s website.
DC is launching a system for pre-registering appointments for vaccines on Wednesday.
States and localities were offered referral advice for choosing who should be offered the vaccine in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention phases 1b and 1c.
More coronavirus news
Looking for more information? DC, Maryland and Virginia each publish more data every day. Visit their official websites here: Virginia | Maryland | DC
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