DOVER, Del. (AP) – State officials in the field of public health have finalized the recommendations for the second phase of the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in Delaware.
The director of public health, Dr. Karyl Rattay, said on Tuesday that the recipients of the second phase will include essential front-line workers and people aged 65 and over.
The Advisory Committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for Immunization Practices, or ACIP, defines key front-line workers as first responders, such as police and firefighters, school and childcare staff, prison staff, and food, shelter and food store workers. agriculture, production and public transport.
Rattay warned that not everyone in these groups will be vaccinated, as risk exposure must be considered. She mentioned, for example, that poultry workers would have more difficulty than farmers in following social distancing guidelines.
An ethics advisory group voted last week to follow the committee’s recommendations to target key frontline workers and people aged 75 and over in the second round of vaccine distribution.
But the Public Health Division has opted to lower the Phase 1B eligibility age from 75 to 65, based on COVID-related deaths nationwide. Officials noted that while the median age for deaths among whites and Asians is 82 and 83, respectively, the median age for deaths among blacks is 74 and 66 for Hispanics.
“If we went 75, we would have a real capital problem,” Rattay said.
Vaccinations for Phase 1B are expected to start by the end of January.
Meanwhile, officials said Tuesday that 8,422 people in Delaware received the first of two vaccine doses. Officials expect to receive another 14,625 doses from Pfizer this week and 5,800 from Moderna.
Elsewhere, Maryland officials reported a total of 36,669 vaccinations as of Wednesday morning, up 8,052 from the previous day. More than half of the vaccinations took place in the Baltimore metropolitan area. Officials said the total Maryland vaccine allocation from the federal government by this week will include 140,300 doses of Modern vaccine and 133,575 doses of Pfizer vaccine.
Maryland officials have not said when the second phase of vaccine distribution will begin in that state, explaining that they are focusing on vaccinating people in the first priority group, which includes front-line health care workers, first responders and staff. long-term care institutions. and residents.
Maryland officials also did not say whether they intend to follow the CDC committee’s recommendation to target people 75 and older and key front-line workers in the second round. A Maryland Health Department spokesman said Tuesday only that the second phase will include people with “a significantly higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease.”
As of Wednesday, Maryland officials reported 5,681 COVID-related deaths and 1,756 current hospitalizations.
Delaware officials reported 921 deaths and 425 current hospitalizations as of Tuesday night.