Pre-K through 12th grade teachers, Alaskans age 50 and older with high-risk medical conditions or who are front-line essential workers and people living or working in congregate settings will be eligible to schedule an appointment to receive their COVID-19 vaccine starting Thursday.

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Serviced in a Wednesday press release announced that they would be opening the next tier of vaccine eligibility — Phase 1b Tier 2.

The new group of people eligible to be vaccinated includes Alaskans 50 and above who have high-risk medical conditions, education staff, limited pandemic response staff, front-line essential workers age 50 and older who work within 6 feet of others and people living or working in other congregate settings, with specific guidelines for each of those categories.

DHSS specifically identified which high-risk medical conditions make someone 50 or older eligible. They include cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), Down syndrome, heart conditions — such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies, immunocompromised state from solid organ transplant, obesity, severe obesity, sickle cell disease, smoking, Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes mellitus and pregnancy.

Education staff includes, regardless of age, pre-K through 12th grade educators and support staff — including custodial, food service and transportation, child care workers and support staff and Indigenous language and culture bearers.

Limited pandemic response staff include those who may come into contact with the SARS-CoV-2 virus during outbreak response activities.

Front-line essential workers 50 and older who work within 6 feet of others include law enforcement, public safety, first responders, food and agriculture workers, transportation and logistics workers, water, wastewater and utility workers, among others. A full list of who is included can be found on the DHSS vaccine website at covidvax.alaska.gov.

Congregate settings include acute psychiatric facilities, correctional facilities, group homes for people with disabilities or mental and behavioral health conditions, homeless and domestic violence shelters, substance misuse and treatment residential facilities and transitional living homes.

People previously eligible to receive the vaccine are still able to schedule appointments to be vaccinated can still do so if they haven’t already.

“As we get vaccine out quickly, efficiently, and equitably across the state, we are constantly balancing supply and demand,” said Alaska Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink. “Given some additional vaccine that will be coming soon into the state, the remaining February allocation and an estimation of March’s vaccine allocation, we have decided to move forward with this large tier. While we know this next group is large, and there will be more demand than supply at first, this gives communities more flexibility to move quickly. The demand will be met over time as more vaccine becomes available.”

For the months of December, January and February, Alaska received an allocation of 174,400 pairs of vaccine. As of Wednesday, 162,270 doses had already been administered, including 114,117 initial doses and 48,153 second doses, though those numbers are expected to be higher due to a lag in reporting. According to the state’s COVID-19 vaccination dashboard, 10,178 doses had been administered in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, including 7,620 initial doses and 2,558 second doses.

Alaska currently leads the nation in the percentage of the population that has received at least one dose. 15.2% of Alaska’s population has received at least one dose, according to NPR’s COVID-19 vaccine tracker. That is compared to the nationwide percentage of 9.9%.

In determining who is able to get the COVID vaccine and when, the state considers recommendations from the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. More information about the COVID-19 vaccine in Alaska can be found on DHSS’ vaccine website at covidvax.alaska.gov.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.