Millions of people in the United States with mental health conditions are newly eligible for COVID-19 vaccine booster shots. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added mood disorders to its list of health conditions that put people at risk for severe illness from the coronavirus — a list that already included diabetes, chronic lung disease, and heart issues, among other conditions, as well as behavioral health conditions such as substance use disorders. Mental health professionals and advocates urged the CDC to expand the list.
“These are every bit as much a biological disorder as anything we think of as a typical biological disorder. These are not disorders of choice. They are clearly driven by a genetic predisposition. They’re clearly driven by biological and neurochemical functioning in the brain and the body,” said Dr. Frank A. Ghinassi, president and CEO of Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care. To read the full story.