People 55+ with at risk conditions, grocery workers eligible for vaccine
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - On Monday, vaccine eligibility opened up to Idahoans 55 and older with underlying medical conditions and to people in a variety of jobs, like agriculture and grocery workers.
“This is a pretty significant expansion,” said Maggie Mann, the district director of Southeastern Idaho Public Health.
The newly eligible groups consist of tens of thousands of people in the eight county region. You can see the full list of eligible groups here.
“But thankfully, we are starting to get more vaccines. It’s about double what we were getting around the 1st of February, which is great,” Mann said.
This week, SIPH and their partner providers are receiving 3,700 doses of the vaccines, most of which are Pfizer and Moderna shots, because the Johnson and Johnson supply is limited.
“Our Johnson and Johnson supply is still very, very limited. They essentially pushed out everything they had the first week they had it available,” Mann said.
Ir will likely be more available in mid- to late-April, Mann said. But even with three options for a vaccine, health officials encourage people to get whatever one is available to them first.
“What we encourage people to do is get whatever vaccine is available, because all three of these have demonstrated to be very effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death,” Mann said.
In most cases, people can go to their preferred provider for their shots now. In addition to local pharmacies, some national providers are now receiving vaccine shipments, too.
“Partners like Walmart, Walgreens, Albertsons, they’re receiving vaccine as well,” Mann said.
People who are eligible for the vaccine and want to be immunized should contact a provider to schedule an appointment. Click here to find providers in Southeast Idaho. Click here to find providers in Eastern Idaho.
Those who are now eligible and already pre-registered for a vaccine on covidvaccine.idaho.gov should still contact a provider if they want to speed up the process of getting their shot.
