Vaccine Eligibility
Updated February 24, 2021
On this page:
Follow the links below to see limitations that may apply. Alaskans currently eligible to receive the COVID vaccine include:
- People 65 years and above
- People 50 years and above with a high-risk medical condition
- People 50 years who are an essential worker and must work within 6 feet of others
- PreK–12 and child care education staff
- Most health care workers
- People living or working in congregate settings
Note: Vaccine managed by the Alaska Tribal Health System, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Department of Defense may have different eligibility criteria.
Who is eligible now?
Alaska uses a phased approach to make the vaccine available. Vaccine supply is very limited at first, and it will gradually be available to more Alaskans over time.
- People 65 years and above
People who assist someone 65 years of age or older in getting a vaccination are eligible to be vaccinated at the same time. Both the senior and the person providing assistance will need to schedule an appointment at the same location and time. The person assisting does not need to meet other eligibility requirements to receive the vaccine. - People 50 years and above who have any of the following high-risk medical conditions known to be risk factors for severe COVID-19 associated illness:
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Down Syndrome
- Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
- Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant
- Obesity or severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] greater than 30 kg/m2) (see calculator)
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell disease
- Smoking
- Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes mellitus
- Have questions? See frequently asked eligibility questions for high-risk medical conditions
- People 50 years and above who must work within 6 feet of others as an essential worker. For more detail about essential workers, see the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) advisory list (PDF). This includes, but not is not limited to:
- Chemical
- Commercial Facilities
- Communications and Information Technology
- Critical Manufacturing
- Defense Industrial Base
- Education (including higher ed, career and technical education, and support staff);
- Energy (electricity, petroleum, Natural Gas, utility and power workers)
- Financial Services
- Food and agriculture (food manufacturers, distributors, restaurant workers, seafood workers, grocery store workers)
- Hazardous Materials
- Healthcare / Public Health
- Hygiene Products and Services
- Law enforcement, public safety, and other first responders
- Other Community-or Government-Based Operations and Essential Functions
- Public works and infrastructure support service
- Residential/Shelter Facilities, Housing And Real Estate, and Related Services
- Transportation and logistics (public transit workers, aviation workers, taxi drivers, port workers, bus drivers, U.S. Postal Service workers and mail carriers, warehouse operators)
- Water and Wastewater
- Have questions? See frequently asked eligibility questions for frontline essential workers
- PreK-12 Education and Childcare staff, limited to:
- Childcare workers and support staff (e.g. custodial, food service, transportation);
- Pre K–12 grade educators and support staff (e.g. custodial, food service, transportation);
- Indigenous language and culture bearers
- Have questions? See frequently asked eligibility questions for education
- People living or working in congregate settings not covered in Phase 1a, limited to:
- Acute psychiatric facilities;
- Correctional settings;
- Group homes for individuals with disabilities or mental and behavioral health conditions;
- Homeless and domestic violence shelters;
- Substance misuse and treatment residential facilities; and
- Transitional living homes
- Note: Congregate settings may include people working in any system whose job responsibilities require them to interact with individuals residing in congregate settings (e.g. people who work in the judicial system).
- Have questions? See frequently asked eligibility questions for congregate settings
- Long term care facility staff and residents
- Includes Skilled Nursing Facilities, Assisted Living Homes, and Dept of Corrections infirmaries providing care that is similar to an assisted living facility
- Hospital-based frontline health care workers and hospital personnel
- Particularly includes those performing the highest risk procedures or who spend extended periods of time bedside and whose absence from work would compromise the ability of the hospital to continue functioning. Personnel in this category include, but are not limited to: ICU and COVID unit nurses, LPNs, CNAs and patient care technicians; ICU and COVID unit physicians; Inpatient physicians caring for COVID patients, including hospitalists; Respiratory therapists; Emergency department personnel; Personnel working in operating and other procedural rooms in which aerosol generating procedures are conducted.; Other hospital staff working in COVID units such as PT/OT/ST therapists, phlebotomists, etc.; Environmental services personnel; and Facility security personnel
- Frontline EMS and Fire Service personnel providing medical services
- Particularly those personnel whose absence from work would compromise the ability of these critical medical services to continue. This Tier includes personnel in certified ground-based and air medical services. This Tier also includes community health aides/health workers providing EMS services.
- Community Health Aides/Practitioners
- Pandemic response staff who may come into contact with the SARS-CoV-2 virus during outbreak response activities.
- Have questions? See frequently asked eligibility questions for pandemic response staff
- Health care workers providing COVID vaccinations
- Workers in health care settings who meet all of the following criteria:
- Have direct human patient contact, or have direct contact with infectious materials from patients, AND
- Provide essential services in a hospital, clinic, home, or community-based setting that cannot be offered remotely or performed via telework; AND
- Provide essential health care service in a health care setting that cannot be postponed without serious negative impact to the patient's health
- Note: Workers in health care settings includes people who stay home to provide healthcare for a medically fragile person. Eligible individuals provide daily support related to an individual’s activities of daily living (i.e., bathing, dressing, eating) and instrumental activities of daily living (i.e., shopping, laundry, light housework).
Who is eligible soon?
Not yet open (Phase 1b Tier 3). Timeline to be determined.
- People 55 years and above
- People 40 years and above who have a high-risk medical condition
- People 16-49 who are frontline essential workers with a high-risk medical condition
- People 16 years and above who live in a multigenerational household with 3 or more generations, or “skipped” generations (e.g., a grandchild living with an elder).
- People 16 and above who live in communities where at least 45% homes have not been served either via pipe, septic tank and well, or covered haul system.
Not yet open (Phase 1c). Timeline to be determined.
- People 16 years and above who have a high-risk medical condition
- Frontline essential workers not included in previous phases, who are working in Alaska, as defined by CISA.
Who will be eligible later?
Learn more
We’re working to provide additional information, as it becomes available. Vaccine supply is very limited at first, and it will gradually be available to more Alaskans over time. Alaska uses a phased approach to make the vaccine available. The State of Alaska COVID-19 Vaccination Plan: Allocation Guidelines (PDF) explain the process.
Provide input
More information about the meeting, and how to provide comment, is available at the Alaska Vaccine Allocation Advisory Committee webpage.