March 15, 2021 Health Department: 628 vaccine providers in all 64 parishes will receive COVID vaccine this week

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Mar 15, 2021 - This week, 628 vaccine providers across the state will receive very limited doses of COVID vaccine. These providers include national and independent pharmacies, public health providers, clinics and physician offices, hospitals and others. The full breakdown is as follows:

• 260 chain pharmacies (including 116 Walmarts, 7 Sam's Club, and 75 CVS from retail pharmacy program)
• 164 independent pharmacies
• 66 hospitals
• 46 public health providers
• 26 urgent cares
• 31 federally qualified health centers (FQHCS)
• 15 medical practices
• 8 rural health clinics (RHCs)
• 12 other healthcare provider

LDH has published the list of participating providers, along with their locations and contact information, on its website: covidvaccine.la.gov. In addition to these providers, community vaccination events are taking place across the state and are also listed on LDH’s website. 

Residents can call 211 to find a vaccine provider or event near them.

Future distribution is dependent on vaccine made available to the state, among other factors.

Effective Tuesday, March 9, 2021, the State of Louisiana has expanded eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines to include people who have health conditions that may result in a higher risk of disease. If you are between the ages of 18 and 64 (or 16+ if receiving the Pfizer vaccine) and have one of the following conditions, you are now eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccine. If you are pregnant, regardless, of age you are eligible.

Eligibility by Age or Condition

• People 65 and older
• Dialysis patients
• Pregnant people

People with Certain Medical Conditions

• People 18-64 (or 16+ for Pfizer vaccine only) with at least one of the conditions listed below by the CDC. To receive the vaccine, people with these underlying medical conditions should complete the Louisiana COVID-19 Vaccine Attestation Form (English | Spanish | Vietnamese) before their appointment.
  • Asthma (moderate to severe)
  • Cancer
  • Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain)
  • Chronic kidney disease
  • Chronic liver disease
  • COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
  • Current or former smoker
  • Cystic fibrosis
  • Down syndrome
  • Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies
  • Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant
  • Hypertension or high blood pressure
  • Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
  • Overweight (body mass index [BMI] of 25 or higher less than 30)
  • Obesity (BMI of 30 or higher but less than 40)
  • Severe obesity (BMI of 40 or higher)
  • Pulmonary fibrosis (having damaged or scarred lung tissues)
  • Severe neurologic conditions such as dementia
  • Sickle cell disease
  • Type 1 diabetes mellitus
  • Type 2 diabetes mellitus
  • Thalassemia (a type of blood disorder)

Eligibility by Workforce Category

• Ambulatory and outpatient providers and staff
  • Behavioral health providers and staff
  • Community care providers and staff
  • Dental providers and staff
  • Dialysis providers and staff
  • Non-emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) providers and staff
  • Urgent care clinic providers and staff
• Professional home care providers (including hospice workers) and home care recipients (including older and younger people with disabilities over the age of 16 who receive community or home-based care, as well as clients of home health agencies)
• Unpaid family caregivers to people who are receiving licensed home and community-based services
• American Sign Language (ASL) and foreign language interpreters and Support Service Providers (SSPs) working in community and clinic-based settings, and clients who are both deaf and blind
• Any staff working in congregate facilities (prisons/jails, shelters, dorms, rehab/detox centers, group homes)
• Health-related support personnel (lab staff, mortuary staff who have contact with corpses, pharmacy staff)
• Schools of allied health students, residents and staff
• Law enforcement and other first responders
• Louisiana Unified Command Group
• State legislators
• State and local essential COVID emergency response personnel
• Some elections staff ahead of March and April elections
• Teachers and any other support staff working on site in K-12 or daycare

Participating providers must give available vaccine doses to anyone who is eligible. Failure to do so will affect whether the provider receives future allocations of the vaccine.

Eligible residents must contact a participating provider to make an appointment. Patients who arrive without an appointment will not be vaccinated. LDH cannot make appointments for patients; only providers can. 

Second doses

Patients receiving Moderna or Pfizer vaccines will receive their second dose of the COVID vaccine at the same location they received their first dose. Second-dose appointments should be made during the administration of the first dose. If residents missed their second dose vaccination appointment they should immediately contact the provider of their first dose to schedule a new appointment. If you have received the Moderna vaccine, ideally your second shot should be given 28 days after your first one. If you get the Pfizer vaccine, the second dose should be given 21 days after the first. According to the CDC, you can safely receive the second dose up to 42 days and likely longer after the first dose if need be.

The recently authorized Johnson & Johnson vaccine is given in one dose, and like the other two vaccines is 100% effective at preventing hospitalization and death from COVID. 

The Louisiana Department of Health is coordinating the COVID-19 vaccine distribution effort in Louisiana. As more vaccines become available from the CDC, more individuals and groups will be offered a vaccination. We want everyone to have the opportunity to get vaccinated against COVID. We are confident that COVID-19 vaccines will be a critical tool in ultimately ending the pandemic.