General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCan I still get the "last" COVID vaccine, at the Walmart pharmacy, for instance??
I am 62 years old, I don't have any officially diagnosed risk factors, although I know I have untreated high blood pressure....
Haven't had a COVID booster since 2022, so I think I'm due for one...
Can I still get the last one, if I act quickly ??
RFK jr's policies say I won't be eligible for the upcoming one,
or at least would be very difficult to get,
since I have not been officially diagnosed by any doctor
for 'risk factors', and am not yet 65 years old...
Suppose I should call Walmart and ask them....
(wouldn't go there normally, but it is the closest location to me, and I have no personal working transportation...)

tanyev
(47,681 posts)And I dont think anyone at CVS will take the time to measure height and weight to make sure someone with a BMI of 24 doesnt sneak in to get vaxxed.
Jack Valentino
(3,163 posts)but weigh more than I would like to---- but I don't own a personal scale at this time....
probably around 210 and six feet tall.... extra weight in the belly...
tanyev
(47,681 posts)Jack Valentino
(3,163 posts)I was always quite 'skinny' my whole life---
and still am, except in my "middle".....
"a potato on toothpicks", my mother used to call it....
stopdiggin
(14,334 posts)doesn't give a flying fajita where you're carrying what - or honestly even whether it is fat or muscle, or a huge bowel obstruction ...
It's more or less just a matter of, "Here's your sign!"
Bo Zarts
(26,047 posts)Get that high blood pressure treated, stat! Hypertension is a slow (usually), silent killer .. but untreated it goes south quickly. I have a brother five years younger than me (I am 77), who is in End Stage Kidney Disease and is on dialysis. In 2016 he quit his BP meds because he couldnt afford them. But he could, really.
Tanuki
(16,032 posts)You are needlessly increasing your risk of having a stroke! Please, please take care of this!
Skittles
(167,043 posts)deal with that BP, nothing to mess around with.......
I_UndergroundPanther
(13,216 posts)Was invented by insurance companies right?
tanyev
(47,681 posts)but the only thing I care about right now is that I do have a BMI that qualifies me for the new vaccine.
I_UndergroundPanther
(13,216 posts)I hope I can get it regardless
nilram
(3,319 posts)Sorry, I can't find the official rules, but they say that you don't have to give the pharmacist a formal diagnosis, or even an informal one. Just say that you have one of the conditions that the CDC identifies as higher risk. My pharmacist told me once that she doesn't ask about a diagnosis, and if someone gives one to her, she doesn't note it on their records.
This isn't the rules that I'm looking for, but it is a CDC list of higher risk conditions: https://www.cdc.gov/covid/risk-factors/index.html. It includes "possibly high blood pressure" so you'd be telling the truth.
IMO, based on the rate of decay of covid immune response, we should be getting the shot twice a year, and over-65s should get it three times a year. I'd have to lie to get it that third time, though I do see "physical inactivity" on the list, so maybe not. I absolutely would not feel any guilt over stretching the truth in this case.
BigmanPigman
(53,606 posts)gives me an RX for one?
Ilsa
(63,196 posts)Jack Valentino
(3,163 posts)