Gov. Charlie Baker is facing renewed calls to add Type 1 diabetes to the list of medical conditions eligible for coronavirus vaccines in Massachusetts after the CDC put the rarer form of diabetes on its recently updated prioritization list.
“I was relieved. I finally felt that all the risks I’ve been carrying for the last year were recognized,” said Jessica von Goeler, of Arlington, when she saw that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had updated its list of medical conditions that put patients at a higher risk for severe COVID-19 illness.
Von Goeler has had Type 1 diabetes for 45 years and started a petition that has gained nearly 14,000 signatures imploring Baker to prioritize people with the condition for coronavirus vaccination.
Massachusetts bases its list of eligible medical comorbidities on the CDC list of underlying conditions for which adults “are” at increased risk of severe illness should they contract COVID-19.
The Massachusetts list includes Type 2 diabetes. But the new inclusion of Type 1 diabetes remains under consideration by the Baker administration, meaning that for now those patients are grouped in with the general population that becomes eligible on April 19.
“It’s just important to recognize that even though everyone is eligible in three weeks, that three weeks really matters when you’re living with a chronic health condition,” von Goeler said.
Baker said the state’s “tended to follow the CDC guidance pretty carefully on our phasing,” adding that the one exception thus far was for the inclusion of moderate-to-severe asthma after the Herald first reported it was left off the list of comorbidities despite its prevalence in communities hard hit by the virus.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, who joined Baker for a tour of the Hynes Convention Center mass vaccination site on Tuesday, said, “We just updated our list yesterday, so I think people are just getting accustomed to what’s on this new list.”
Recent research shows comparable risk of hospitalization and death between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes patients.
The risk of dying from coronavirus is almost three times higher for Type 1 diabetes patients and about twice as high for Type 2 patients compared to people without diabetes, according to research published in The Lancet medical journal.
Tracey Brown, chief executive officer for the American Diabetes Association, said in a statement said the updated recommendation is a welcomed change for the 1.6 million Type 1 patients in the U.S., “many of whom were left behind — even if inadvertently — by CDC’s previous guidance.”
Brown said, “it is crucial that remaining states follow suit,” on the guidance.
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March 31, 2021 at 07:29AM
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CDC adds Type 1 diabetes to priority list for coronavirus vaccination; condition under consideration in Massachusetts - Boston Herald
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