Frontline workers, seniors over 75 years old, then need to get a Covid shot

Washington — People over the age of 75 and essential frontline workers are in the next row due to the limited supply of the Covid-19 vaccine, a group of experts advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended on Sunday. Should line up.

The Vaccination Advisory Board, a 13-to-1 vote, recommends after lively debate on whether older people and high-risk groups should be prioritized over some key workers. approved.

The recommendations are not binding, as the state makes the final decision to prioritize vaccination. However, many states are seeking ACIP recommendations to help solve difficult ethical issues regarding how to divide the supply of insufficient doses fairly.

“This is not black and white,” said Amanda Korn, Executive Director of ACIP, on the recommendation. “It depends on the local situation.”

Voting takes place just one day after the panel approves the use of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine for Americans over the age of 18. CDC Director Robert Redfield has approved this recommendation. Authorities confirmed with POLITICO and paved the way for Moderna’s second vaccine to be given to Americans on Monday.

Some disagreements about priorities: It is widely agreed that 24 million healthcare workers and nursing home residents and staff nationwide should be vaccinated into the first vaccination group known as 1a.

However, Sunday’s panel sought to resolve a broader debate about who should be in the next two layers, known as 1b and 1c.The group that represents the frontline workers Actively encourage priority designation, Their members claim they are at high risk of being infected with the virus that killed more than 315,000 Americans.

The new ACIP recommendations for Group 1b are 30 million people considered front-line essential workers, including police and firefighters, school staff, food workers, public transport and postal workers, and 19 million people aged 75 and over. It is intended for elderly people.

ACIP has agreed to include the remaining elderly under 75, other mandatory workers, and people aged 16-64 at high risk in the next vaccination round 1c.

Throughout Sunday’s five-hour meeting, several ACIP members expressed concern about how to prioritize these later groups, which include an estimated 130 million and are likely to take months to inoculate. did. The Trump administration predicts that it will take until the end of February to vaccinate the first 100 million people in the United States.

Henry Bernstein, director of pediatrics at the Northwell Cohen Pediatrics Center and the only person to vote against the ACIP recommendations, said all people over the age of 65 given the high mortality rate of the elderly. He said he thought the adults should be moved to the 1b priority group.

Grace Lee, a panel member of Stanford University’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Medical Innovation, suggested postponing the vote because it wasn’t clear enough how to prioritize within the 1c group. But she later withdrew the move.

Future guidance: Nancy Mesonier, director of the CDC’s National Vaccination and Respiratory Center, opposed postponing the 1c vote and promised that public health agencies would provide the state with additional guidance on prioritization. ACIP members said they expect guidance to come soon this week.

“We have clearly heard that we need to lower our priorities based on age group and understand that we need to be more clear about high-risk medical conditions,” Meissonier said, saying he would postpone the vote. And expressed concern that local health sector plans would be hampered. Effort.

ACIP members said they needed more detailed information about what conditions fit into the high-risk healthcare category. The CDC has identified a number of conditions associated with severe Covid-19 outcomes, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, COPD, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, cancer, sickle cell disease, pregnancy, and smoking history. I will.