WDH Expands COVID Vaccine Eligibility

CASPER, Wyo. – The Wyoming Department of Health is expanding its COVID-19 vaccine eligibility across Wyoming to include people aged 65 and older, as well as people with certain high-risk medical conditions.

According to a statement released Monday afternoon, vaccine doses remain limited, but pre-registration for the next round of qualified people is opening.

Information on how to register by county is available here on the WDH website.

The full version follows:

The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) updated the state’s immunization priority groups to be more in line with recently outlined national guidelines while rolling out new pre-registration and information options.

The WDH offers an online pre-registration form to allow priority populations to easily pre-register for vaccination, as well as a toll-free telephone line that will facilitate access to vaccination information. Pre-registration is now open for people 65 and over.

For more information on the COVID-19 vaccination efforts in Wyoming, including detailed descriptions of updated and current Phase 1 priority groups, please see https://health.wyo.gov/publichealth/ immunization / wyoming-covid-19-vaccine-information /.

Registration processes vary from county to county in Wyoming. County-specific information is available online at https://health.wyo.gov/publichealth/immunization/wyoming-covid-19-vaccine-information/county-covid-19-vaccine-information/.

Those who cannot visit the website for more details on priority groups or for county-specific information can call the WDH immunization toll-free line at 800-438-5795. With great interest in the vaccine, call volumes may be high enough to cause delays.

While the gradual effort to provide free, safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines is expanding, the overall federal vaccine supply remains low. The limited number of doses available requires the continued use of a phased approach to ensure that vaccines reach those most at risk and most affected by the virus.

Phase 1b has been expanded to include people 65 years of age and older and people with certain high-risk medical conditions. The essential frontline workers listed in Phase 1b will be contacted through their employers by local county health units. Pre-registration for additional Phase 1 groups will open in the coming months.

The comprehensive plan for Phase 1 describes three general groups of early vaccine eligibility:

• Phase 1a includes healthcare providers, first responders, long-term care facility staff, and others at high risk of exposure to COVID-19.
• Phase 1b is now focusing on certain essential frontline workers, people 65 years of age and older, and people with certain medical conditions.
• Phase 1c includes homeless people, people living in collective premises and other essential workers as defined by the Federal Agency for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security. More details on essential workers can be found online at https://www.cisa.gov/publication/guidance-essential-critical-infrastructure-workforce.

Although descriptions of the Phase 1c priority groups are now available, counties will likely not vaccinate the Phase 1c groups until later in the year due to limited vaccine supply.

“Counties are currently vaccinating people in phase 1a and certain groups in phase 1b, and are working with priority groups based on what is most appropriate for their counties,” said Stephanie Pyle, senior administrator of the division. of WDH public health. “We are working with the counties to make sure the vaccine is delivered as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t have enough doses to vaccinate everyone in these groups right away,” Pyle said. “We ask for the patience of our residents as we all wait our turn to receive the vaccine.”

Wyoming’s prioritization schedule is based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and the WDH Medical Ethics Committee.

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