Eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines widened today, but Walmart’s vaccination registration page hadn’t yet been updated to reflect the change as of Monday morning.
A company spokeswoman told APR in a message Monday that “as patient eligibility requirements for COVID-19 vaccines expand, we will update our internal processes and online scheduling system to reflect those changes as quickly as possible.”
Alabama moved fully into phase 1c of the state’s COVID-19 vaccination plan on Monday, also including people 55 and older and those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Also included in the extended eligibility are people ages 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions, which include, but are not limited to, the following conditions:
Cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, heart conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies; immunocompromised state, solid organ transplant, obesity, BMI greater than 30, pregnancy, sickle cell disease, smoking, Type 1 and 2 diabetes, other medical conditions as determined by your medical provider.
The following additional critical workers will also be eligible beginning March 22:
Transportation and logistics, waste and wastewater, food service (includes restaurant staff), shelter and housing (construction), finance (bank tellers), information technology and communication, Energy, Legal, Media, public safety (engineers).
As of Monday morning, CVS’s vaccine scheduling website showed only four locations with available slots in Bay Minette, Mobile, Opelika and Phoenix City.
County health departments in 51 counties had available dates to schedule for vaccinations, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health’s vaccine registration website, but many of those counties didn’t have any nearby open dates, some with spots available as far out as a month or more.
Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris told reporters on Friday that the state will open COVID-19 vaccines to everyone over the age of 16 before May 1, a date that President Joe Biden has set as a target for full eligibility nationwide.
“Certainly Alabama will do that by May 1, but it could be much earlier, depending on how much uptake we see,” Harris said, noting that doing so will depend on vaccine supply.
Alabama has administered more than 1.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Monday, according to ADPH, with 529,402 people being fully vaccinated. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses, while the Johnson & Johnson is a single-shot vaccine.
