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Blowing cancer sticks can actually keep you from getting sick in Pennsylvania – at least when it comes to COVID-19.
The state is pushing smokers to the front of the vaccination line because the habit makes you more susceptible to disease, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said Friday.
All people aged 16 to 64 with “high risk health conditions” – including cigarette addiction – have been added to the first phase of the Keystone State coronavirus vaccine distribution plan , reports WTAE-4.
“Pennsylvania has chosen to follow the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] recommendations and include smoking among the list of medical conditions putting individuals at greater risk, ”a representative from the state’s health department told the station.
Smokers are now eligible for potentially life-saving vaccines, as well as healthcare workers, residents of nursing homes, and people aged 65 and over under Phase 1A of the plan.
It was not immediately clear how the state would verify if a person was a smoker, and a spokesperson for the Department of Health did not immediately return the Post’s request for comment on Friday.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that people aged 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions be included in Phase 1C of the vaccine allocation plan. But each state is free to modify the plan as it sees fit.
New Jersey and Mississippi also currently offer the vaccine to smokers under the age of 65.
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