San Francisco has begun allowing individuals aged 16 to 64 with a body mass index or BMI above 30 to receive a COVID-19 vaccine from Monday – a requirement that is less stringent than the rules of the state.
State and city officials on Monday expanded the COVID-19 vaccination eligibility list to include people aged 16 to 64 with disabilities and serious underlying conditions, such as obesity and diabetes.
The Department of Public Health says that people with severe obesity – or a BMI higher than 40 – are now eligible for the vaccine. In San Francisco, the BMI requirement is 30 or more.
San Francisco supervisor Matt Haney tweeted Monday: “Anyone with a BMI of 30 or higher in San Francisco is also eligible for the vaccine starting today.”
BMI is a measure of the weight category (underweight, healthy weight, overweight and obesity) of a person, based on their weight in kilograms and their height, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is used as a screening tool, “but it does not diagnose an individual’s body fat or health,” the CDC said.
According to CDC, children and teens are referred to as BMI for age and factors in the age and gender of a person.
There are a few ways to calculate the BMI of an adult or child and teenager.
For adults, the first option is to do math: divide your weight in kilograms by your height in square meters. If your weight is 68 kg and your height is 165 cm (1.65 m), the calculation is: 68 ÷ (1.65) 2 = 24.98 (BMI).
The second and easiest option for adults is to insert the numbers into a BMI calculator to do the math for you.
Adults should include their height and weight in the BMI calculator. Children and teens have separate BMI calculators and should include their gender and age.
Here are some online BMI calculators:
Adult: BMI Calculator by the CDC
Adult: Standard BMI Calculator by US Department of Health and Human Services
Adult: Body Mass Index Calculator by the American Cancer Society
Child or teenager: BMI Calculator by the CDC
Child or Teenager: BMI Calculator by Stanford Children’s Health
These are the BMI ranges for adults, according to the CDC:
Under 18.5: Underweight
18.5-24.8: Normal or healthy weight
25-29.9: overweight
30 and above: obese
BMI ranges for children and teens, according to the CDC:
After a child or teen’s BMI is calculated, it is measured as a percentile using a BMI-for-age percentile growth chart based on gender. Here are the CDC cards for boys and girls.
These are the series according to the CDC:
Less than the 5th percentile: underweight
5th percentile to less than the 85th percentile: Normal or healthy weight
85th to less than the 95th percentile: overweight
Equal to or greater than the 95th percentile: obese
And here’s where and how you can plan your COVID-19 vaccine appointment in San Francisco and other Bay Area counties.
Jessica Flores is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @jesssmflores