The CDC advisory panel met on Sunday to discuss prioritizing the distribution of the covid-19 vaccine across the country. The panel decided that teachers, firefighters, police, and grocery workers will be next in line to receive the covid-19 vaccine approved by the FDA.
The committee voted 13-1 to recommend the Phase 1b that includes people over the age of 75 and Frontline essential workers. On the other hand, phase 1 C will include people in the age group up 16-64 who have high-risk medical conditions. This phase will also include people in the age group of 65 to 74.
Teachers, Firefighters, And Police Next In Line For Covid 19 Vaccine
Medical experts say that these short term recommendations will improve the efficiency of the vaccination distribution program till the time there are enough vaccines available to provide to all citizens. As of now, frontline Healthcare workers, along with people in long term care, are given priority to receive the vaccines. The second phase is likely to begin in February, and the committee is looking into prioritizing the vaccine distribution for the next stage.
The decision to prioritize the vaccine is tough, but it is essential as there is a lack of supply at this stage. In this situation, it is important to decide who is at greater risk of contracting covid-19 and who are more likely to suffer from severe outcomes if they contract the virus. Experts agree that even though these recommendations are not perfect, it will still give some order into the distribution program and help the public Healthcare authorities to manage the mass vaccinations in an orderly manner.
Given this situation, many people will still continue to become sick even as a vaccine is really available in the market. It is important for governments and other concerned authorities to improve the production of vaccines and try to reduce the number of new coronavirus cases in order to strike a balance.
As there is a lack of enough supplies in the initial days of the mass vaccination program, it is essential to go for a phased vaccination plan across the country. Essential workers are at high risk as they deal with a lot of people while performing their duties. According to CDC experts, prevention of disease in the essential workers’ community will help to reduce the transmission of the virus to other people.
There are about 30 million people in the essential workers’ category, and they are largely grouped among the first responders that include police and firefighters, along with teachers, supporting staff, and daycare workers. The next in line who deal with a lot of publicity during their everyday activities are the Food and Agriculture workers, manufacturing workers, public transit workers, grocery store workers, and the US Postal Service workers.
The essential workers in Phase 1 c consist of about 57 million people, which includes public Health workers, construction workers, finance workers, energy workers, media workers, legal workers, transportation and logistics workers, finance workers, IT and Communications workers, and public safety engineers.
Apart from these people, others suffering from co-morbid conditions like obesity, type 2 diabetes, a heart condition, chronic kidney condition may be given preference in the vaccine distribution program.
The next phase of vaccine distribution that will start for other workers apart from the Frontline Healthcare workers is likely to begin from February. The federal authorities have said that they will be able to distribute over 100 million doses of vaccine by February. As of now, only two vaccines have been approved by the FDA, and many more or in their final stages of clinical trials. Once they get approval from the FDA in the near future, the public health authorities will have more options, and they can easily manage the vaccine distribution across the country.