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The state of California allows people with any of 10 co-morbidities to be vaccinated against COVID-19 starting Monday – including severe obesity, defined as having a body mass index of 40 kg / m2 or more, or more commonly known as a BMI of 40 or above.
To put this in perspective, a 5ft 6in adult weighing 250 pounds has a BMI of 40.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers anyone with a BMI of 30 and over to be obese, and the city of San Francisco is expanding the state’s definition for qualifying requirements and allowing those who are technically obese by government standards. CDC to get vaccinated.
In a nutshell: Californians with a BMI of 40 and over can get the vaccine, while SF residents with a BMI of 30 and over qualify for the vaccine.
The gap between state and SF qualifications routs some as you have to go through the state’s My Turn website to sign up for appointments at SF city immunization sites. such as the Moscone Center. The My Turn site requires users to check a box indicating that they are eligible for the vaccine; the obesity option indicates a BMI of 40 and over.
SF supervisor Matt Haney took to the issue on Twitter Monday and wrote that SF residents can check the “40 and over” box if their BMI is between 30 and 39.
“Anyone with a BMI of 30 or greater in San Francisco is also eligible for the vaccine starting today,” Haney wrote on Twitter. Asked about the registration problems on the state website, he said, “It’s my turn that the problem arises. People are still eligible and they should choose the 40>.
The CDC offers an online tool that calculates your BMI. While the medical community defines BMI as a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters, the tool uses the United States system in feet, inches, and pounds.
Data from the CDC from 2019 indicated that 26% of California adults had a BMI of 30 or more. This is lower than the national average of 42%.
Research has shown that obesity increases the risk of serious illness from COVID and can triple the risk of hospitalization due to infection, according to the CDC. Obesity is also linked to impaired immune function and decreases lung capacity and reserve and can make ventilation more difficult, the CDC said.
California on Monday opened COVID-19 vaccines to people with one of the following 10 conditions deemed “serious” by the state: cancer; stage 4 or higher chronic kidney disease; chronic lung disease; Down’s syndrome; weakened immune system due to a solid organ transplant; pregnancy; sickle cell anemia; heart disease, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies (but not hypertension); severe obesity; and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
People with disabilities are also eligible, and the state has provided many examples of people who fall into this category, including people who use regional centers, independent living centers, home support services, health centers. adult day health, Medi-Cal waivers for HIV / AIDS. and exemptions for Medi-Cal Home and Community-Based Alternatives, Medi-Cal Assisted Living Exemptions, California Children’s Services Program (if the child is 16 at age 21) and the California Genetically Disabled People’s Program.
The California Department of Public Health released guidance on Thursday and said people with these high-risk conditions or disabilities will not be required to provide documents to verify their diagnosis to get the vaccine, but they may be invited. to sign a self-attestation that they satisfy. the criterion.
The state recommended that eligible people start by contacting their health care providers. The state also suggests checking the My Turn website regularly, as new appointments are added daily.
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