Gov. John Bel Edwards is expected to greatly expand access to the COVID-19 vaccines in Louisiana today—adding people with more than 20 health conditions and those who work in jails and prisons to the list of those eligible to receive them.
Health care providers who didn’t want to be named shared an expanded list of eligibility on Louisiana Department of Health letterhead with Louisiaina Illuminator. An official in the Edwards administration then confirmed the governor intended to expand access to the vaccine to these groups Tuesday.
As Louisiana Illuminator reports, in addition to opening up vaccine eligibility to people with more health conditions, Louisiana will also allow people who work in large group living situations—in jails, prisons, group homes, homeless shelters, drug rehabilitation centers and elsewhere —to get the vaccine starting today.
Edwards has instituted a fairly narrow set of criteria for vaccine distribution up until this week, in an effort to ensure that people who are elderly have an opportunity to get vaccinated first. In Louisiana, over 68% of the people who have died from COVID-19 have been over 70 years of age, and 50% have been over 76.
But this past week, health care providers reported having hundreds of extra vaccine shots at some large vaccination sites in New Orleans. The lower demand for the vaccine—coupled with an expected surge in supply—likely contributed to the governor’s decision to expand eligibility moving forward. See the full list of conditions.
