Alabama To Expand COVID Vaccine Eligibility March 22
Monte Abner, an employee in the Jefferson County School District, received his dose at UAB.
In less than two weeks, Alabama will roughly double the number of people eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.
Beginning March 22, eligibility will expand to include people aged 55 and older, those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and people aged 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions including:
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD
- Heart conditions
- Solid organ transplant
- Obesity (BMI greater than 30)
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell disease
- Smoking
- Type 1 and 2 diabetes
- Other medical conditions as determined by your medical provider
Eligibility will also expand to include critical workers in the following areas:
- Transportation and logistics
- Waste and wastewater
- Food service (includes restaurant staff)
- Shelter and housing (construction)
- Finance (bank tellers)
- Information technology and communication
- Energy
- Legal
- Media
- Public safety (engineers)
During a press conference Friday morning, Alabama Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris said health officials have faced public pressure to expand eligibility criteria following similar announcements in surrounding states.
“I recognize that there are a number of people in our currently eligible groups who are still having some difficulty finding vaccinations,” Harris said. “And so I’m sure many of those folks are going to ask, ‘Why would we expand at this time?’ But we do believe that it’s the right time.”
Harris said Alabama currently receives 110,000-120,000 vaccine doses per week from the federal government and the state expects the supply to increase in coming weeks. He said the number of providers administering vaccine is also increasing, with help from federal programs operating in Walmart and CVS Pharmacies.
Harris said the state remains concerned about equity in vaccine distribution and is prioritizing the state’s most vulnerable counties. As of this week, he said the top nine counties for vaccinations per capita are all in the Black Belt.
“They are the ones (counties) where we have spent the most effort trying to make sure we have access to shots,” Harris said.
The expansion of eligibility criteria will coincide with the launch of National Guard mobile vaccination clinics that will rotate through 24 rural counties beginning March 23.
Pipe bomb suspect told FBI he targeted U.S. political parties, memo says
The man accused of placing two pipe bombs in Washington on the eve of Jan. 6, 2021 told investigators someone needed to "speak up" for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen, prosecutors said Sunday.
Chinese military stages drills around Taiwan to warn ‘external forces’
The drills came after Beijing expressed anger at U.S. arms sales, and a statement by Japan's prime minister saying its military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan.
Trump and Netanyahu to meet in Florida at a crucial moment for the Gaza ceasefire
President Trump could use the face-to-face at his Mar-a-Lago estate to look for ways to speed up the peace process, as Israel's leader has been accused of not pushing his side to move fast enough.
‘Bomb cyclone’ forecasted to bring heavy snow, blizzard conditions and dangerous travel
A 'bomb cyclone' is intensifying severe winter weather for millions of people across the U.S. The system is expected to knock out power and disrupt holiday travel.
Russia sends 3 Iranian satellites into orbit, report says
The report said that a Russian rocket sent the satellites on Sunday from a launchpad in eastern Russia.
Viral global TikToks: A twist on soccer, Tanzania’s Charlie Chaplin, hope in Gaza
TikToks are everywhere (well, except countries like Australia and India, where they've been banned.) We talk to the creators of some of the year's most popular reels from the Global South.
