People age 75 and older and front-line essential workers should be the next priority groups to receive COVID-19 vaccines, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices put forth Dec. 20, according to NPR.
The committee vote establishes their recommendation for vaccine distribution in the remainder of phase 1 — phases 1b and 1c. Healthcare personnel and long-term care facility residents made up phase 1a.
Phase 1b applies to adults age 75 and older and front-line workers essential to societal functions, such as teachers, firefighters, prison officers and police. Phase 1c expands access to adults 65 and older, people with underlying medical conditions that put them at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and other essential workers including those in food service, construction, waste and trucking.
The next step is for CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD, to accept the committee's recommendations. They would then be published in the CDC's "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly" later this week and shared as official CDC guidance.