Oregon and Washington differ on smokers vaccine eligibility Dan McCarthy
As millions continue to wait to become eligible for the coronavirus vaccine, controversy continues over when certain groups of individuals, like smokers, are vaccinated.
Oregon and Washington have two different approaches to determining when those who smoke will be vaccinated.
The CDC lists smoking as an underlying condition that puts people at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
In states like New Jersey and Mississippi, smokers were among the first to become eligible for vaccination.
In Washington, the state elected to list smoking as one of the two required comorbidities in order to qualify in Phase 1b Tier 3, which is expected to start receiving vaccinations on April 12th.
By Graham Kilmer - Feb 24th, 2021 09:29 am //end headline wrapper ?>COVID-19 vaccine. (Pixabay License).
The pace of vaccination continues to improve in Wisconsin as the supply of COVID-19 vaccine from the federal government grows.
In the past week, another 1.8% of the state’s population has completed the vaccination process, receiving both doses of the vaccine. As of Tuesday, 6.3% of the state is fully vaccinated, or more than 375,000 people have completed the two-dose vaccination. Some 1.2 million doses of vaccine have been administered since vaccination began
The weekly allotment of doses to the state is increasing.
Julie Willems Van Dijk, deputy secretary of the Department of Health Services, said the federal government will now provide approximately 115,000 doses a week. The prior weekly allocation was 89,000 doses a week. In total, the state’s weekly allocation is now up 64% from when vaccination first began in mid-January, Van Dijk