NEW YORK (AP) – A federal advisory panel on Sunday recommended that people over the age of 75 and essential workers like firefighters, teachers and grocery store clerks be next to get vaccinated against COVID-19, along with a second vaccine. it began to be distributed to hospitals as part of attempts to control the pandemic.
The vaccination campaign began a few days ago and some 556,000 Americans have already been inoculated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and Germany’s BioNTech is already being distributed, and last week the nation’s regulators approved the one from Moderna Inc., which began shipping to hospitals on Sunday.
A few weeks ago, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices indicated that health workers and residents of nursing homes – totaling some 24 million people – were the ones who should be vaccinated first.
The panel vote on Sunday was on who should be inoculated next, and by 13 votes in favor and one against it was decided that it should be those over 75, who comprise about 20 million people, as well as some workers from first line, which total about 30 million.
Essential workers include firefighters and police officers, as well as teachers and educational personnel; those who work in the food, agriculture and manufacturing sectors; correctional employees; those of the Postal Service of the country; to public transport workers and those in grocery stores. All of them are considered to be at very high risk of infection because their jobs are critical and require them to be in regular contact with other people.
At the moment it is not clear how long it will take to inoculate these groups. Vaccines have been distributed slower than expected. But some experts pointed out that not everyone who is recommended to get vaccinated will decide to do so.
The committee also voted in favor that, after those groups, people aged 65 to 74 should follow, which number about 30 million, as well as those aged 16 to 64 who have health problems such as obesity and cancer. who are most at risk if they contract COVID-19 and number about 110 million, and a group of other essential workers. That group of up to 57 million people includes a broad category of public service and food service employees, but also those who have legal and financial jobs, and in the media.
Now the recommendation from the expert panel will go to the CDC director and the states as a guideline for organizing vaccination programs. CDC directors almost always accept the panel’s recommendations. Whatever the CDC decides, there will be differences from state to state, as various health departments have different ideas about who should be first in line.
Federal officials anticipate that vaccine doses will be limited for several months. CDC officials said up to 20 million people are forecast to receive the vaccine in the coming weeks, with another 30 million next month and 50 million in February. That represents 100 million people out of a population of more than 300 million.
Pfizer vaccines were shipped a week ago and began to be used the next day, kicking off the largest vaccination campaign in the country’s history.
Hours earlier Sunday, trucks left the factory in Olive Branch, Mississippi, near Memphis, Tennessee, with the vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health. The rush inoculations are expected to begin on Monday, just three days after the Food and Drug Administration authorized their emergency use.
In Louisville, Kentucky, UPS driver Todd Elble said his shipment of vaccines was the “most important” in his 37-year career.His parents caught COVID-19 in November, and his 78-year-old father died.
“I’m going to get vaccinated. I’m going to be the first in line for my father —of course I will— and any other that needs to be put on later, “he said.” I feel in my heart that everyone should (apply it), to help stop this. ” .
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Hanna reported in Topeka, Kansas. Associated Press journalist Julie Walker in New York contributed to this report.
