BOISE, Idaho — Idaho began its vaccine rollout in December 2020. As of March 2021, more Idahoans have received the vaccine than have been infected with COVID-19.
As more vaccine is shipped to Idaho, the Idaho COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Committee has made adjustments to the vaccine eligibility timeline.
Due to reduced demand for the vaccine and in an effort to avoid unfilled vaccination appointments, all Idahoans age 45 and older became eligible on March 22.
During an Idaho Dept. of Health and Welfare meeting on March 24, Gov. Brad Little announced that anyone age 16 and older will be able to receive the vaccine starting on April 5.
The new timeline can make it difficult to determine whether you and your loved ones are eligible to receive the vaccine. Here's who is currently eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and the preliminary schedule for the rest of the state rollout.
Who is currently eligible:
Be sure to check with your local health provider, as supply and demand may affect who becomes eligible at any given time.
- Idahoans age 45 and older
- Healthcare workers
- Long-term care facility employees and residents
- First responders (Police, firefighters, etc.)
- K-12 teachers and school staff
- Frontline essential workers- a list of those workers eligible can be found here.
- People age 16 and older who live in a congregate setting, such as a dormitory
- Age 16-44 with at least one medical condition
- All Idahoans age 16-44
Vaccine schedule (subject to change):
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a medical condition is defined as "are at increased risk" and "might be at increased risk" for developing severe COVID-19 symptoms.
If you have any of the following conditions, you are at increased risk:
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Down Syndrome
- Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
- Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant
- Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)
- Severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2)
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell disease
- Smoking
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
If you have any of these conditions, you may be at increased risk:
- 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
Even if you are not currently eligible to receive the vaccine, Idaho health officials are encouraging those seeking a vaccine to pre-register using the state's new pre-registration tool.
To learn how to register for a vaccine, click here.
At KTVB, we’re focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the virus. To see our full coverage, visit our coronavirus section, here: www.ktvb.com/coronavirus.
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