On Monday, January 18, Alabama will begin the next phase of vaccination of the vaccine, to encourage general members of the public, if they are old enough, to sign up.
The state will officially enter phase1b, not completely, but they will start accepting two groups in 1b. These are people 75 years and older and first reaction, such as the police and firefighters.
The rest of 1b, including essential workers and people in group homes, will come next. So did people over 65. There was group 1c in the third wave, but the CDC recommended that all states move faster to vaccinate someone over 65.
But how many people are there in each of these groups in Alabama?
Being part of a specific group – such as front-line workers or people aged 75 and over – could put you closer to the forefront of the coronavirus vaccine. Here is an estimate of how many people are in each group. | Graphics by Ramsey Archibald
Within each phase of the vaccination distribution plan for the Department of Public Health in Alabama, there are specific groups. The state estimates there are nearly 347,000 people already eligible for the Phase 1a vaccine, which includes medical workers and people living or working in nursing homes.
ADPH estimates that there are approximately 350,000 people in Alabama aged 75 or older, and another 501,000 between the ages of 65 and 74. The state says Phase 1b of the vaccine, including essential workers, includes 783,000 people – including about 40,000 people living or working in the community, which includes group homes and shelters for the homeless.
Phase 1c will include another 775,000 people, including essential workers. And the state estimates that there are nearly 1.9 million people in Alabama with one or more of the following conditions: Obesity, diabetes, COPD, heart disease, or chronic kidney disease.
If you add up all these numbers, it is about 4.7 million Alabamans who are eligible to receive a vaccine before the state can start after all the others. But the number is actually not that high. In that state, only about 4.9 million people live, and the total is inflated because people may be in more than one group – a police officer with kidney disease or a surgeon who is 66 years old.
So far, progress has been slow, as Alabama has vaccinated only 2 percent of the population – the lowest percentage in the country. But officials expect things to accelerate as levels expand and more people can enroll.
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Do you have an idea for a data story about Alabama? Send an email to Ramsey Archibald at [email protected], and follow him on Twitter @RamseyArchibald. Read more information stories about Alabama here.