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(Journalist)
– Across the United States, millions of medically vulnerable people who were initially named as a priority vaccination group were slowly pushed back on the list as the CDC changed its guidelines to favor the elderly, regardless of their physical condition , and workers in a wide range. employment sectors, according to the AP. North Carolina is just one of 24 states that currently places people under the age of 65 with “underlying health conditions” near the bottom of the package to receive the vaccine, according to Jen Kates of the Kaiser Family Foundation. A report she wrote last month ranked Pennsylvania as the only state to make vaccines available to medically vulnerable people during its first phase of distribution. When North Carolina unveiled its initial guidelines in October, it put people with multiple chronic conditions at the top of the list. In response to the CDC’s December recommendations to prioritize people 75 and older, however, it ditched those with chronic conditions to phase 2.
When guidelines changed again to extend eligibility to people 65 and over, medically vulnerable residents learned in January that they would move to phase 4 – to be vaccinated after “essential frontline workers” but before everyone”. The state’s top public health official said those residents were moved to the bottom of the list after health officials received data showing elderly residents are much more likely to die from COVID -19. In response to the frustrations of these patients, states are again revising their guidelines. As of Monday, 28 states, including North Carolina, had at least partially opened up statewide vaccine eligibility to those with high-risk health conditions, Kates said. Four more states are making the vaccine available to medically vulnerable residents living in certain counties. Maura Wozniak, a 42-year-old Charlotte-area resident with cystic fibrosis, cried in relief after learning she may soon be eligible. “At least there’s a certain window now,” she said.
(Read more stories about coronavirus vaccines.)
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