Puffing on cancer sticks can keep you from getting sick in Pennsylvania – at least when it comes to COVID-19.
The state is pushing smokers to the front of the vaccine line because the habit makes you more vulnerable to the disease, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said Friday.
All people ages 16 to 64 with “high-risk medical conditions” – including becoming addicted to cigarettes – were added to the first phase of Keystone State’s coronavirus distribution plan, WTAE-4 reports.
Pennsylvania has chosen to use the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] recommendations and add smoking to the list of medical conditions that put people at greater risk, ”a representative from the state health department told the station.
Smokers are now eligible for the potentially life-saving shots, along with health professionals, nursing home residents, and people 65 and older under Phase 1A of the plan.
It was not immediately clear how the state will verify whether a person is a smoker, and a health department spokeswoman did not immediately answer The Post’s request for comment on Friday.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that people ages 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions be included in Phase 1C of the vaccination allocation plan. But each state is free to adjust the plan as it sees fit.
New Jersey and Mississippi currently also offer the vaccine for smokers under the age of 65.