Beginning Monday everyone in Louisiana over the age of 16 will be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Governor Edwards said this means any Louisianans over 16, regardless of occupation or health status, can make an appointment to get vaccinated Monday.
“This is welcome news, but it is a little bit of a surprise to get here as soon as we did. We knew we were getting close and we had signaled that but we didn’t know we would be getting here Monday when we started the week,” said Edwards.
Louisiana is one of nine states where anyone 16 and older can receive a vaccine. As of now, 16 and 17-year-olds are only eligible to receive a Pfizer vaccine.
Edwards said this final expansion of criteria for adults and older teens is the result of a significant increase in the number of vaccines being sent here by the feds.
“Next week Louisiana is slated to get more than 148,000 first doses in addition to all of the doses that would come as second doses,” said Edwards who added that doesn’t include a number of other federal programs that provide doses to certain state providers.
Edwards said we can really see the light at the end of the tunnel now and the only hurdle remaining is making sure everyone actually takes the vaccine.
“In the not too distant future we are going to have enough doses for everybody who wants one, what we need to do is make sure that everybody wants one,” said Edwards.
The state’s weekly allocation has more than doubled since it first started getting vaccine in late December.
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