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Smokers in Massachusetts may be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine as early as next month.
An adjustment to the state’s prioritization has moved residents with multiple health conditions considered to be at high risk for COVID-19 to the first group eligible to receive the vaccine during phase 2, which is expected to distribute over a million vaccines. Smoking – along with obesity and type 2 diabetes – among dozens of conditions considered to pose an increased risk of serious illness from COVID.
Massachusetts is among a half-dozen states across the country that prioritize smokers in vaccination plans, including a state that made smokers immediately eligible this month.
In the coronavirus vaccine rollout plan announced by Massachusetts health officials in December, priority for the vaccine was given to residents at high risk because of their occupation, housing and health.
The first to receive the vaccine were health workers providing direct care to COVID patients. This includes not only doctors and nurses in hospitals, but also other healthcare system support staff who come in direct contact with COVID patients.
Frontline healthcare workers were tracking residents and staff of long-term care facilities, nursing homes and assisted living facilities where COVID has claimed the lives of many people.
Tens of thousands of emergency medical providers, police and firefighters have been ranked third to receive the vaccine, efforts that began in Massachusetts last week.
Residents and staff of group homes, substance use disorder treatment programs and emergency shelters, as well as inmates, will receive the vaccine starting Monday.
Massachusetts is expected to enter Phase 2 of the vaccine distribution plan in February. In phase 2, residents with two or more health conditions that make them at high risk for complications from COVID-19, those aged 75 and over, and residents and staff of low-income senior housing and affordable are priority to receive the vaccine first.
For high-risk conditions, which qualify a resident to receive the vaccine, public health officials include a list from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC’s list includes a dozen conditions that put adults of all ages at increased risk for serious illness from COVID-19:
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Down syndrome
- Heart disease, such as heart failure or coronary artery disease
- Immunocompromised condition following organ transplantation
- Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg / m2 or more but <40 kg / m2)
- Severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg / m2)
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell anemia
- Smoking
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
This group will be attended by teachers, transit operators and grocery store workers, among other industries deemed critical during the pandemic.
“Being a current or former cigarette smoker increases your risk of serious illness from COVID-19,” the CDC says. Federal health officials do not distinguish 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 suggesting the health issues that put an individual at greater risk.
These updates have led some health officials to change their vaccine distribution plans.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced Wednesday that about 2 million smokers in the state would immediately become eligible for the vaccine, in addition to seniors and residents with pre-existing illnesses.
Responding to criticism, Murphy called it a “cheap stunt” on Friday that some claim smokers skip the line.
Other states include smokers in COVID vaccination plans. As in New Jersey, smokers in Mississippi can receive the vaccination earlier. In Alaska, Maine, and North Carolina, smokers are included in later stages.
Smoking rates have dropped dramatically in recent years. About 30 years ago, about 24% of Massachusetts residents reported smoking daily or for a few days. In 2019, 12% identified themselves as smokers – about 4% below the national average.
Governor Charlie Baker was asked on Wednesday about possible changes to the state’s deployment following new guidelines released by federal health officials this week.
“I know it’s not popular, but I really hope that from the start we will be able, with the vaccine available, to reach the populations for whom life is most at risk, and for which the system health care matters and depends. to provide care, ”Baker said.
Massachusetts is expected to enter Phase 3 of the vaccine rollout in April, when the general public is expected to be eligible. By summer 2021, the majority of residents should have access to the vaccine.
By then, about 80% of the state’s population is expected to be vaccinated – the remaining 20% comprising children under 14, adults who cannot be vaccinated safely and those who choose not to. not get vaccinated.
“Our explicit goal is for everyone who is medically eligible to receive the vaccine,” said Dr. Paul Biddinger, chief of emergency preparedness at Massachusetts General Hospital and director of Mass. General’s Center for Disaster Medicine, at a press conference announcing the three-phase plan. Biddinger chairs the Massachusetts COVID-19 advisory group, which helped determine vaccine allocation and distribution plans.
COVID-19 vaccines are offered free to everyone by federal health officials. Insurance companies have made a commitment not to charge fees or copayments related to vaccines and vaccination clinics.
When it gets easier in the coming months, public immunization clinics will be listed on the CDC’s website, vaccinefinder.org.
In addition to hospitals, the vaccine will be available in large-scale clinics. Baker announced on Tuesday that Gillette Stadium will be the state’s first full-scale facility.
The clinic will be open to first responders receiving the vaccine on Monday.
The facility is expected to begin offering 300 vaccines per day, increasing to provide 5,000 per day, followed by “a potentially much larger number,” Baker said Tuesday.
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