DSHS: RESIDENTS 65 AND OLDER OR WITH CERTAIN MEDICAL CONDITIONS IN NEXT COVID-19 VACCINE PHASE
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has outlined the state’s priorities for who will be next in line for COVID-19 vaccines.
Monday, DSHS said people who are 65 years old and older or have certain medical conditions will be prioritized in Phase 1B of vaccine distribution. DSHS said data collected over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic shows that the virus has the most severe effects on those groups.
According to DSHS, over 70 percent of the deaths directly caused by COVID-19 in Texas are among people 65 and older. In addition, the department points to scientific evidence showing that adults of any age with certain underlying medical conditions are at higher risk of hospitalization or death if diagnosed with COVID-19.
Phase 1B vaccine priorities include:
- People 65 years of age and older
- People 16 years of age and older with at least one chronic medical condition that puts them at increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19, such as, but not limited to:
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies
- Solid organ transplantation
- Obesity and severe obesity (body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher)
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell disease
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel Chair and DSHS Associate Commissioner Imelda Garcia said this approach will ensure that those at the highest risk “can be protected across races and ethnicities and regardless of where they work.”
The state is currently in Phase 1A of vaccine distribution, which includes residents of long-term care facilities and front-line healthcare workers. With an estimated 1.9 million Texans in those groups, DSHS estimates it will be at least a few weeks before the beginning of Phase 1B.
Learn more about Phase 1B here.