Phase 1b: Adults with underlying medical conditions

Last Updated: 11 Mar 2021 10:45am
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Adults with underlying medical conditions who are included in Phase 1b of COVID-19 vaccination broadly include cancer, conditions associated with a weakened immune system, mental health conditions, heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes, obesity and neurological conditions.

Specifically, individuals with the following are eligible under Phase 1b:

  • Solid organ transplant recipients who are on immune suppressive therapy
  • Adult survivors of childhood cancers
  • Bone marrow transplant recipients or those on chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy or those on immune suppressive therapy for graft versus host disease
  • Haematological diseases or cancers
    • Including leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma
    • Diagnosed within the past 5 years or on recently completed active treatment
  • Non-haematological cancer
    • Diagnosed within the past 5 years or on recently completed active treatment
  • Chronic inflammatory conditions on medical treatment
    • Including Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and similar who are being treated with Disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or immune-suppressive or immunomodulatory therapies
    • Generally not inclusive of people living with osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome or similar non-immunocompromising inflammatory conditions.
  • Primary or acquired immunodeficiency
    • Including congenital causes of immunodeficiency and HIV/AIDS
  • Those with severe mental health conditions, including schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder
  • Chronic renal (kidney) failure with a eGFR of <44mL/min
    • Not including mild-moderate chronic kidney disease
  • Heart disease
    • Including ischaemic heart disease, valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathies and pulmonary hypertension
  • Chronic lung disease
    • Including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, cystic fibrosis, interstitial lung disease
    • Not including mild or moderate asthma
  • Diabetes
  • Severe obesity with a BMI ≥ 40kg/m2
  • Chronic liver disease
  • Some neurological conditions
    • Including stroke, dementia, multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, Parkinson’s disease and cerebral palsy
    • Generally not inclusive of migraine or cluster headaches
  • Poorly controlled blood pressure (defined as two or more pharmacologic agents for blood pressure control, regardless of recent readings)
  • Those with Down syndrome, muscular dystrophy, traumatic brain and spinal cord injury

You may wish to discuss your individual eligibility with your usual health care provider or General Practitioner.