New Vaccination Priority Groups and Type 1 Diabetes

New priority groups

Starting April 12, vaccination will be expanded to include adults under 60 years of age who have a chronic illness or health condition considered to have a very high risk of complications from COVID-19. This includes:

People who are currently hospitalized with a condition that puts them at risk of complications from COVID-19;
Patients who receive kidney dialysis treatment in hospital, transplant recipients and those receiving cancer treatment;
People who have to receive a dose of vaccine under the supervision of an allergologist in a hospital.

This priority applies to very specific groups of patients who will receive their vaccine in a hospital on the recommendation of a doctor.

Vaccination prioritization for people with type 1 diabetes

Until last week, people under 60 years of age with type 1 diabetes were included in the eighth priority group. When it was announced on April 7 that vaccination was expanded, the list of eligible conditions was modified to include sub-groups of people who are considered to have a very high risk of complications from COVID-19.

The detailed list is available here.

As it is now, people under 60 years of age with type 1 diabetes who do not meet the criteria on this list are no longer prioritized and will be vaccinated along with the tenth priority group, i.e., the rest of the adult population.

Government lobbying efforts

Diabetes Québec, with the support of the BETTER research team, asked the government to reverse its decision to exclude people with type 1 diabetes from the next vaccination priority group. It is crucial for people with diabetes to be vaccinated as soon as possible.

This request is supported by recent studies that show that people with diabetes are at a higher risk of developing severe forms of COVID-19. For instance, the U.S. Center for Disease Control recommends that people with type 1 diabetes be vaccinated as early as possible.

Diabetes Québec also suggests that the dissuasive vaccination process should be simplified. For example, vaccines could be administered in pharmacies and medical clinics, where staff have access to a patient’s electronic health file and can easily confirm the diabetes diagnosis.