Covid-19 Vaccination Schedules for Your Area
Disinformation and confusion are two words that come to mind when we think about the vaccination schedule. If you’re feeling anxious, we understand and are here to point you in the right direction. We do not have all the answers, but we can direct you to trusted sources of information.
Most states promised a roll-out of the vaccine for people in the age demographic of 75+ in the spring, with a sliding scale timeline. We’ve also seen recently that some states are reducing the age of vaccination eligibility in the next phase, to 65 years old. The first phase of vaccination continues to be healthcare workers and frontline service workers.
California is leading the charge in reducing the vaccination age requirement from 75 to 65. Governor Newsom is actively pushing for mass vaccination in partnership with the California Department of Health, "With our hospitals crowded and ICUs full, we need to focus on vaccinating Californians who are at highest risk of becoming hospitalized to alleviate stress on our health care facilities," said Dr. Tomás Aragón, Director of the California Department of Public Health and State Public Health Officer. "Prioritizing individuals age 65 and older will reduce hospitalizations and save lives."
Georgia and Florida are following in California’s tracks in reducing the vaccination age given the large population of people 65 years and older.
Each state is approaching vaccination differently, and we just need to sit tight and hold on while paying attention to trusted sources of information. So far, we have information on phase 1 of the vaccination process. Phase 1 is broken up into 3 priority groups for vaccination.
Phase 1 A
Healthcare personnel and residents of long-term care facilities
Phase 1 B
Frontline essential workers such as fire fighters, police officers, corrections officers, food and agricultural workers, United States Postal Service workers, manufacturing workers, grocery store workers, public transit workers, and those who work in the educational sector (teachers, support staff, and daycare workers.)
People aged 75 years and older because they are at high risk of hospitalization, illness, and death from COVID-19. People aged 75 years and older who are also residents of long-term care facilities should be offered vaccination in Phase 1a.
Phase 1 C
People aged 65—74 years because they are at high risk of hospitalization, illness, and death from COVID-19. People aged 65—74 years who are also residents of long-term care facilities should be offered vaccination in Phase 1a.
People aged 16—64 years with underlying medical conditions which increase the risk of serious, life-threatening complications from COVID-19.
Other essential workers, such as people who work in transportation and logistics, food service, housing construction and finance, information technology, communications, energy, law, media, public safety, and public health.
To be clear, this is the CDC recommendation to each state, but states can decide how they want to administer vaccinations. That’s why we suggest that you consult your local Department of Health website for information on your individual state.
The Center for Disease Control is the best authority to find trusted Vaccine information. You can check out their “finding credible vaccination information” page here. There’s a great list of sources and questions to think about when sorting through vaccination information to make sure you’re reading credible information.
There are many disinformation campaigns out there about the vaccine. For the best sources of information about the vaccine you can consult this page from the CDC and also consult information from your healthcare provider.
The best thing we can do is consult with public health professionals and information sources. We will keep you updated throughout the process as best we can!
Information sources:
https://covid.ri.gov/vaccination?mc_cid=2056381080&mc_eid=0f552981f4