“Older populations are whiter,” said Harald Schmidt, an ethics and health policy expert at UPenn.
The debate over who should receive COVID-19 vaccines has intensified following suggestions that older people should be prioritized because they are more likely to be white.
“Older populations are whiter,” Harald Schmidt, an expert in ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania, said in an interview with the New York Times.
“Society is structured in a way that allows them to live longer. Instead of offering additional health benefits to those who have already had several of them, we can start to level the playing field a bit ‘, he explained.
After the first week of vaccine launches, targeting high-risk health workers, a federal group of vaccination experts is set to hold an emergency meeting over the weekend to recommend who the next vaccine should be.
Based on a prior vote, the group is expected to recommend that key non-healthcare workers take precedence over older people when launching vaccination.
An 88-year-old Florida resident is seen receiving the Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday. The debate over who should receive COVID-19 vaccines has intensified
Schmidt defended his remarks in a series of tweets on Friday
The group is due to vote on Sunday, but its guidelines are not mandatory, as each state ultimately decides how to manage the distribution of the vaccine.
Panel members lean toward pursuing “essential workers,” because people like bus drivers, grocery store officials, and others who perform vital tasks that can’t be done at home are the ones who get infected most often.
Race also came into play, with some, such as Schmidt, pointing out that key workers are more likely to be white than the elderly.
In a tweet on Friday, Schmidt denied his comments, saying he “never supported prioritizing race only.”
He went on to say that it was easier for older people to isolate themselves than essential workers, who may have no choice but to interact with the public through jobs.
However, the comments sparked a reaction, with a Twitter user responding: “I can’t understand how someone might have your opinion. … It’s always been about protecting the old.
Another topic: “vaccines should be aimed at those who are most at risk of dying from it and that, by far, is a function of age. good to know the racism alive in the academy. ‘
‘So the elderly are not just non-essential; are actually quite consumable, “said another.” They have been stuck in their homes for 9 months because they are “vulnerable”, but the healthy 25-year-old associate of the liquor store needs a tramp first. “
The vast majority of pandemic deaths were among those over 65 years of age. According to the CDC, those over the age of 85 are 630 times more likely to die from the virus than those between the ages of 18 and 29.
At the same time, there were racial disparities in health outcomes. The CDC says black and Hispanic people are both 2.8 times more likely to die from the virus than white people.
The advice of the expert group – the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices – is almost always approved by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This was the case earlier this month, when the group said that maximum priority should be given to health workers and long-term care home residents for the 20 million initial vaccinations this month.
However, it is not clear that the CDC will follow the group if it recommends prioritizing essential workers over the elderly for the next vaccination.
CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said he believes priority should be given to people aged 70 and over who live with children or grandchildren.
The chairman of the advisory committee, Dr. Jose Romero, said he was aware of Redfield’s comments, but did not speak directly to him.
Redfield declined to say whether it would prioritize the elderly over key workers, even though the group recommended the opposite. “I look forward to listening to the advisory group’s discussions and receiving its recommendation for analysis,” he said in an e-mail.
“I think we know this will not be perfect. We don’t have a vaccine for everyone right away, so we will have to make difficult decisions, ‘said Claire Hannan, executive director of an organization that represents state vaccination program managers.
An Amazon worker was seen last month at a shipping center in Minnesota. Some argue that key workers should take precedence over older people receiving a vaccine
If key workers do follow, states already have different ideas about which of them should be closer to the front line.
In Nevada, for example, teachers and child care staff will be in front of public transportation workers, according to the state’s current plan. Then come agriculture and food workers, then retail and utilities.
In South Dakota, teachers may have access before those working in food and transportation. In Arkansas, the list of key workers includes teachers, prison guards, police officers, packaging factory workers and mayors.
Most states have followed the commission’s recommendation that health workers and nursing home residents receive the first doses. But there were a few exceptions.
Utah said long-term care residents should be behind the health care workers, instead of sharing the front with them. Massachusetts included prisoners and homeless people in the first level. Nevada, New Hampshire and Wyoming did the same for police officers.
State-to-state variations are likely to increase in the next priority groups, said Jennifer Kates, the Kaiser Family Foundation, which looked at state vaccination plans.
“I think we’re going to see states fall in different ways,” some putting older people in front of key workers, Kates said.
CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said he believes priority should be given to people over the age of 70 who live with children or grandchildren.
Things could get messy. For example, some experts said that if a state gives priority to certain key workers and a neighboring state decides to give priority to the elderly, people could try to go beyond the state’s boundaries in hopes of getting vaccinated.
“This is one of the problems with the lack of a comprehensive national immunization plan,” said Romero, who is also the head of the Arkansas state health department.
The proposal before the advisory committee is based on a broad definition of key workers established in August by the US Department of Homeland Security. There are hundreds of different jobs as part of the critical infrastructure workforce, including first responders, teachers, communications technicians, weather forecasters, sewage treatment plant workers and people working in animal shelters.
According to estimates submitted to the Advisory Committee, up to 87 million people not working in the health sector can be considered essential employees.
The nation has more than 53 million elderly people. The CDC also counts more than 100 million Americans as having underlying medical conditions at a higher risk of serious COVID-related diseases, although there is an overlap between the two groups.
Trade associations and workers’ groups sent e-mails and other communications to the committee, arguing that they should be given priority.
Julie Russell, representing the Coronado Unified School District in California, called for the priority of teachers and other school workers. “We ask you to recognize the importance of the safety of our staff and how many young lives each of us is reaching,” she said at a meeting last weekend.
Dr. Charles Lee of the American College of Correctional Practices has put pressure on those working in prisons and prisons, plus inmates.
Romero said the committee is likely to discuss ways to help states restrict which key workers should go first. For example, people who are considered essential but can work from home may be placed lower on the list than those who cannot stay 6 meters away from others while working.
What about Atlanta-based CDC staff? In a note to employees obtained by the PA, Redfield said the agency would not receive a direct vaccine allocation. However, Georgia’s plan allows certain public health and laboratory workers to be in the state’s highest priority group. Some CDC employees also work in hospitals and clinics and may be a priority with staff at these locations.
Of course, when more vaccine comes out, “the issue of priority becomes less important,” said Dr. Eric Toner, a Johns Hopkins University scientist who wrote about possible vaccination priority frameworks.
“The bottom line is that we just need to vaccinate as many people as possible,” he said.