New Jersey officials' decision to include smokers among high-risk groups with priority access to the COVID-19 vaccine has been met with surprise by some health experts and front-line workers in the state, reports The Washington Post.
New Jersey is now offering adults 65 and older and those with certain medical conditions access to the vaccine in line with recent changes to federal vaccine guidelines. Under the state's new vaccine policy, about 2 million smokers in the state can now receive a vaccine before teachers or public transit workers, reports the Post.
State health officials have backed the decision, saying they are following CDC guidance, which states that smoking puts people at higher risk of developing a severe COVID-19 case. But some public health experts have questioned the decision or argued that only smokers who also have a chronic respiratory condition should get early vaccine access.
"This would not be a group that would bubble up to high priority," Eric Topol, MD, a cardiologist and founder and director of the La Jolla, Calif.-based Scripps Research Translational Institute, told the Post. "Just smoking doesn't cut it in my view."
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