Think you're ineligible for a COVID vaccine? Think again, Illinois
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Illinois remains one of 34 states where people can still get COVID-19 vaccines without a doctor's authorization, as long as they attest to at least one risk factor, including being overweight or sedentary.
Why it matters: Following Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s major curtailing of COVID vaccine eligibility last month, many Americans are left confused about whether and how they'll be able to get shots amid a surging "stratus" variant.
Driving the news: CVS is still offering COVID vaccines in 34 states, spokesperson Amy Thibault told Axios — but in 13 others and D.C., they require a doctor's authorization, and in three states, they're not available at all.
Threat level: Those lists "may change at any time," Thibault said.
State of play: In Illinois, you can make a COVID vaccine appointment at CVS or Walgreens by attesting to at least one qualifying risk factor — including cancer, HIV, tuberculosis, or chronic liver, lung or kidney disease.
Yes, but: Qualifying factors also include being overweight, smoking, mood disorders and physical inactivity — meaning lack of exercise in the last 30 days.
Shocking statistic: A woman who is 5'4" and over 145 pounds qualifies as overweight.
The latest: This week, Kennedy sparred with a Senate committee on various issues, including whether he was curtailing access to COVID vaccines, with both sides still at odds. The true answer remains complicated.
The bottom line: In a state where 21% of adults report being inactive, 12.5% have diabetes, and 63% of the adult population were overweight (when that data was still maintained in 2010), many who thought they were ineligible may actually qualify for the free vaccine — at least today.