Diseases that entitle you to get vaccinated against COVID-19 faster

The government has made an adjustment to the immunization program. After the representatives of medical professions – belonging to the group “0” – seniors and people with chronic diseases will be vaccinated, including those under 60 years of age. What conditions lead to early vaccination?

1. Vaccination against COVID-19 takes place in a specific sequence. There are four stages (including stage zero) of vaccination
2. People under 60 years of age with chronic diseases that increase the risk of a severe course of COVID-19 will be vaccinated in the first stage, after medics – Michał Dworczyk announced on January 20 during a special press conference
3. The list of chronic diseases that entitle you to be vaccinated in group “1” includes cancer and kidney disease, requiring dialysis. This stage will also include people who have undergone organ transplants and mechanically ventilated people
4. The ministry notes, however, that the exact list of diseases is still being consulted and will be published soon
5. More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.

Sequence of vaccinations against COVID-19. Which group do you belong to?

Vaccinations against SARS-CoV-2 started in Poland on December 27. According to the rules of the National Immunization Program, the doses are distributed in a specific sequence. There are four stages (including stage zero) of vaccinating Poles. If you are struggling with chronic conditions that put you at risk of becoming severely COVID-19, you may be immunized as early as stage one. However, before we present the list of diseases that entitle us to do so, let us recall the established sequence of vaccinations.

Stage zero In the first place, people most at risk of infection are vaccinated, i.e. health care workers (also those performing individual practice), employees of Nursing Homes and Municipal Social Welfare Centers, auxiliary and administrative staff in medical facilities, parents of premature babies.

First stage. On January 15, registration for vaccinations for people in the first stage (first over 80 years of age, and from January 22 – over 70 years of age) began. The vaccination itself is scheduled to start on January 25. This group includes residents of DPS, ZOLs, nursing and care centers and other places of stationary stay, people over 70 years of age in the order of the oldest, uniformed services, teachers.

When the Ministry of Health published the ordinance on the vaccination order, it turned out that the privileged first group, which is to be vaccinated from January 25, also included, among others, soldiers, firefighters, policemen, secret services agents as well as prosecutors and prosecutors’ assessors. This raised a lot of controversy to which the government responded.

– We correct the error in the vaccination plan; we will amend the regulation. We made changes in stage I. Part Ia: all seniors over 60 years of age; part Ib: people with chronic diseases, IC are representatives of uniformed services – said Michał Dworczyk at a press conference.

According to the new information available on the website of the National Immunization Program, in stage I, the following people will be vaccinated:

1. Inmates of Nursing Homes and Nursing and Treatment Institutions, nursing and caring as well as stationary hospices and palliative medicine departments people staying in a social welfare home, referred to in art. 56 of the Act of March 12, 2004 on social assistance.
2. Seniors (Registration for COVID-15 vaccination for seniors over 19 years of age began on January 80. From January 22, people over 70 will be able to register. Vaccinations for registered seniors will begin on January 25).
3. People under 60 years of age with chronic diseases that increase the risk of a severe course of COVID-19, or under diagnosis and treatment that requires repeated or continuous contact with health care facilities.
4. Uniformed services, officers or soldiers of: the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, the Police, the Border Guard, the Internal Security Agency, the Foreign Intelligence Agency, the Central Anticorruption Bureau, the Military Intelligence Service, the Military Counterintelligence Service, the Customs and Treasury Service, the State Fire Service, the State Protection Service Prison, Road Transport Inspection, railway security guards, prosecutors and assessors of the prosecutor’s office as well as members of volunteer fire brigades, mountain and water rescuers performing rescue operations.
5. Teachers, tutors and other pedagogical staff, employed in a kindergarten, other form of pre-school education, a school or an institution operating in the educational system, people working with children in a care and educational institution, a care and therapeutic institution and an intervention pre-adoption center and as part of forms of childcare up to 3 years old.
6. Academic teachers employed at a university other than a medical university and other persons conducting classes with students or doctoral students at the university in accordance with the program of study or education, respectively.

1. The second stage will cover people who directly ensure the functioning of the basic activities of the state and are at risk of infection due to frequent social contacts. This group includes, among others, employees of the critical infrastructure sector, water, gas, electricity, ICT services, postal services, food and drug safety, public transport, officials responsible for combating the pandemic, law enforcement officials, and customs and tax officials.
2. Co-morbidities – what does this mean?

Stage three it is now common to vaccinate the rest of the adult population, that is, people who did not qualify for any of the above stages.

1. More on the sequence of vaccination against COVID-19

What chronic diseases qualify for early COVID-19 vaccination? List

As mentioned above, some chronic diseases entitle you to get the vaccine earlier (in stage one). However, the Ministry of Health has so far only provided a very general list of diseases. It included oncological diseases that required dialysis and mechanical ventilation. We are also talking about transplant recipients.

Let us remind you that the National Immunization Program, published in December 2020, includes a detailed list of diseases entitling to vaccination within the second group. As we read in the document, it was recommended by the Medical Council – an auxiliary body of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. It is composed of the chairman – the prime minister’s chief advisor on COVID-19, prof. dr hab. n. med. Andrzej Horban and over 15 medical experts.

1. How to sign up for the COVID-19 vaccination? [WE EXPLAIN]

The list includes 17 chronic diseases that increase the risk of severe COVID-19 disease. Will patients with all of these conditions be eligible for stage 1 immunization? This is not known yet. We received the following information from the Ministry of Health:

According to the information provided today by Minister Dworczyk, the list of chronic diseases that will entitle to early vaccination in group 1 will soon be published in the amendment to the so-called epidemic regulation. Currently, the draft of this amendment is being consulted. Until the regulation is adopted, “minor adjustments” are possible.

As a reminder, the current list of comorbidities qualifying for vaccination in the second stage (according to the National Immunization Program):

1. chronic kidney disease (CKD)
2. neurological deficits (e.g. dementia)
3. neoplastic diseases (cancer patients should consult the doctor conducting the qualification on the optimal time of vaccination)
4. diabetes
5. lung disease
6. COPD
7. cerebrovascular diseases
8. hypertension
9. immunodeficiencies
10. diseases of the cardiovascular system
11. chronic liver disease
12. obesity
13. bronchial asthma
14. diseases related to nicotine addiction
15. thalassemia (thyroid cell anemia)
16. cystic fibrosis
17. anemia sierpowata

According to the rules of the National Immunization Program, patients with the above-mentioned diseases, can apply to the primary care physician with a request for an e-referral, regardless of the age group in which they are located. However, it is worth remembering that ultimately, a doctor qualifies for vaccinations based on an individual assessment of the patient’s health. For example, if a chronic disease has exacerbated, vaccination will be postponed.

You may be interested in:

1. Can you get vaccinated against COVID-19? [CHECK]
2. What does the COVID-19 vaccination look like? [WE EXPLAIN]
3. Who can get vaccinated against COVID-19? CDC Recommendations
4. How to speed up the vaccination process in Poland? The doctor identifies three main problems

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