U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CDC Advisors Include Frontline Essential Workers in Next Vaccine Allocation
December 21, 2020
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) held an emergency virtual meeting on Saturday, December 19 and Sunday, December 20 and voted 13 to 1 in favor of including frontline essential workers in the next round of COVID-19 vaccine allocations known as phase 1b (source: CNN Health).
An estimated 30 million workers including first responders (firefighters, police), educators, and manufacturing are considered frontline essential workers defined as those who work in sectors essential to the functioning of society and are at substantially higher risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus that causes COVID-19).
Approximately 57 million other essential workers would be vaccinated in Phase 1c, including transportation, construction, energy, water & wastewater, and public safety (engineers).
Phase 1b will also include people of all ages with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk and those aged 75 and older. The one no vote came from a pediatrics professor who did not agree with the committee's decision to separate the 65-74 age group from those 75 and older for inclusion in phase 1b.
The ACIP recommendation includes a strategy for transitioning between phases as supply increases and exceed demand for a current phase (now phase 1a) exceeds demand. The committee says that phases may overlap indicating that it is not necessary to fully complete vaccination in one phase before moving to the next. Decisions to move to the next phase will be made at the state/local level.
LINKS
ACIP Presentation: ACIP COVID-19 Vaccines Work Group
Dr. Beth Bell, Work Group Chair • December 20, 2020
ACIP Presentation: Phased Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccines
Kathleen Dooling, MD, MPH • ACIP Meeting • December 20, 2020
ACIP Presentation: Considerations for Populations Included in Phase 1b and 1c
Sara Oliver MD, MSPH • ACIP Meeting • December 20, 2020
CNN Health
Who gets COVID-19 vaccine next? older adults and frontline essential workers, CDC advisers recommend • by Jacqueline Howard and Jen Christensen, CNN • Sun December 20, 2020