Louisiana greatly expands vaccine eligibility

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Gov. John Bel Edwards announced at a news conference Tuesday, March 9, that the state of Louisiana is greatly expanding vaccine eligibility.

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The new vaccine eligible group will now include all adults and some teenagers who also have certain pre-existing conditions or meet other criteria. Those specific conditions and criteria are outlined in a letter sent to a number of pharmacies so they may be prepared for the announcement.

Vaccine eligibility — Vaccine eligibility(LDH)

The full list of conditions includes most diabetics, people who suffer from severe illnesses like cancer, or those with weakened immune systems, obesity, moderate to severe asthma, and even those who smoke will now be eligible.

The full list of conditions is expected to be announced Tuesday. In a letter obtained by WAFB, the new group will include:

Asthma (moderate-to-severe)
Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain)
Cystic fibrosis
Hypertension or high blood pressure
Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
Neurologic conditions, such as dementia
Liver disease
Overweight (BMI > 25 kg/m2, but < 30 kg/m2)
Pulmonary fibrosis (having damaged or scarred lung tissues)
Thalassemia (a type of blood disorder) Type 1 diabetes mellitus

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The governor’s address will be carried live streaming in this story and carried live on the following television stations: WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge, WVUE-TV in New Orleans, KALB-TV in Alexandria, KNOE-TV in Monroe, KPLC-TV in Lake Charles, and KSLA-TV in Shreveport.

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