Ahead of a COVID-19 vaccine authorization, the CDC's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices plans to vote during a Dec. 1 emergency meeting on who should be the first to receive a vaccine, reports CNN.
The CDC has previously recommended that the first groups to receive a vaccine should be healthcare providers and people in long-term, congregate facilities (group 1a), essential workers (group 1b), and those with high-risk medical conditions along with people ages 65 and older (group 1c). There are about 87 million essential workers in the US, of which 21 million are healthcare personnel, the CDC estimates. There are more than 100 million people with high-risk medical conditions and about 54 million people who are at least 65 years old, with some overlaps between each of the groups.
"This is not something that is being rushed," Jose Romero, MD, chair of the CDC's ACIP, told CNN. "We have already discussed the groups within the first tier. We are simply going over the data once again and having a vote primarily on the first tier group 1a — healthcare providers and the people in the long-term, congregate facilities."
The federal government has previously said about 40 million vaccine doses could be available by the end of December. However, that would not be enough to cover everyone in the first allotment. If Pfizer and Moderna both get their vaccines authorized by the FDA, they could supply 50 million more doses in January and 60 million in February and March, according to CNN.
The ACIP also plans to discuss clinical considerations for potential vaccine side effects on vulnerable populations and post-authorization safety monitoring.
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