Those over 75 will be next to be vaccinated in the United States

NY – A federal advisory panel on Sunday recommended that people over 75 and essential workers such as firefighters, teachers and supermarket employees be vaccinated next against COVID-19, while a second vaccine was distributed to hospitals as part of efforts to contain the pandemic.

The vaccination campaign started a few days ago, and some 556,000 Americans have already been vaccinated, 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 national regulators approved Moderna Inc.’s vaccine, which was shipped to hospitals on Sunday.

A few weeks ago, the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee indicated that health workers and nursing home residents – some 24 million people in total – were the first to be vaccinated.

On Sunday, the panel voted on who should be vaccinated next, and it was decided by 13 votes in favor and one against that it would be the over-75s, comprising about 20 million people, as well as some first-line workers, in total. about 30 million.

Essential employees include firefighters and police officers, as well as teachers and teaching staff; those who work in the food, agricultural and manufacturing sectors; correctional assistants; that of the country’s postal service; for employees in public transport and people in food stores. They are all considered to be at a very high risk of infection because their jobs are critical and they need to be in regular contact with other people.

It is not clear at this point how long it will take to inoculate those groups. Vaccines are distributed more slowly than expected. But some experts pointed out that not everyone recommended to get vaccinated will decide to do so.

The committee also voted that, after those groups, people aged 65 to 74 should follow, of which about 30 million, as well as those aged 16 to 64 who have health problems such as obesity and cancer. most at risk if they contract COVID-19 and number about 110 million, and a group of other key workers. That group of up to 57 million people includes a broad category of employees in the public service and hospitality industry, as well as those in legal and financial jobs and in the media.

Now, the expert panel’s recommendation goes to the CDC director and 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 different health departments have different ideas about who should queue first.

Federal officials expect vaccine doses to be limited for several months. CDC officials said 20 million people are expected to receive the vaccine in the coming weeks, with another 30 million next month and 50 million in February. That is 100 million people in a population of more than 300 million.

The Pfizer vaccines were shipped a week ago and started to be used the next day, kicking off the largest vaccination campaign in the country’s history.

Hours earlier on Sunday, trucks left the Olive Branch, Mississippi, near Memphis, Tennessee plant with the vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health. Emergency vaccinations are expected to begin Monday, just three days after the Food and Drug Administration clears emergency use.

In Louisville, Kentucky, UPS driver Todd Elble called his vaccine shipment 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’ll be first in line for my dad – of course I will – and for all the others that have to be put on later, ‘he said. “I feel in my heart that everyone has to (apply) to help stop this.”