Connect with us

Georgia News

Georgia Dept of Public Health on COVID-19 Vacc Eligibility Expansion for March 15

Per Governor Kemp’s recent announcement regarding COVID-19 availability to more Georgians, the Southeast Health District will begin scheduling COVID-19 vaccination appointments for those eligible as of March 15 on that date. If you are part of this newly expanded phase, you may ONLY schedule an appointment that occurs on or after March 15 as we will not be able to vaccinate you before that date.

This new expansion of eligible individuals includes all adults aged 55 and older, individuals with disabilities and individuals aged 16 years or older with certain medical conditions that increase their risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

To schedule an appointment, please call 1-855-473-4374, and one of our agents will assist you.

——–

Below are the extended definitions of the groups that will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine beginning March 15, 2021. These can also be viewed at dph.georgia.gov.

  • Adults aged 55 and over
  • Individuals with disabilities
  • Individuals aged 16 years and older with certain medical conditions that increase their risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Note: Pfizer is the only COVID-19 vaccine currently approved for children aged 16 and older. Conditions include:
    • Asthma
    • Cancer
    • Cerebrovascular Disease
    • Chronic Kidney Disease
    • COPD
    • Cystic Fibrosis
    • Diabetes
    • Hypertension
    • Heart Conditions
    • Immunocompromised State
    • Liver Disease
    • Neurologic Conditions
    • Overweight and Obesity
    • Pregnancy
    • Pulmonary Fibrosis
    • Sickle Cell Disease
    • Thalassemia

Prior to March 15, 2021, eligible individuals were as follows:

  • Healthcare workers (physicians, nurses, laboratory technicians, EMS personnel, environmental services, etc.)
  • Residents and staff of long-term care facilities
  • Adults aged 65+ and their caregivers
  • Law enforcement, firefighters, first responders
  • Educators and staff (Pre-K, K-12, DECAL licensed or exempt childcare programs)
  • Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their caregivers
    • Intellectual Disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills. This disability originates before the age of 22.
    • A developmental disability is a physical or mental impairment that happens before the age of 22, is expected to last a lifetime, and impacts at least three activities of daily living. Activities of daily living include self-care; receptive and expressive language; learning; mobility; self-direction; capacity for independent living; and economic self-sufficiency.
  • Parents of children with complex medical conditions who are at high risk for COVID-19 complications*
    • Malignancies requiring active treatment
    • Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) including organ transplant (bone marrow or solid organ) within 2 years
    • Critical congenital heart disease
    • Asthma (moderate to severe)
    • Sickle cell disease
    • Diabetes
    • Obesity (BMI >95%)
    • Cystic fibrosis
    • Significant neurologic injury or condition (e.g. hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, traumatic brain injury, congenital anomaly, acute flaccid myelitis) with functional/developmental impairment (e.g. cerebral palsy, developmental disability, prematurity, mitochondrial disease)
    • Technology dependence (e.g. BiPAP, trach)

*Children are defined as ages 0-21.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *