December 8, 2020
Last week, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend that residents and employees of nursing homes and similar facilities be the first people in the United States to receive the first coronavirus vaccines made available, along with health care workers who are especially at risk of being exposed to the virus. 
 
The ACIP panel voted 13-1 during an emergency meeting to make the recommendation. While states are not required to follow the panel’s recommendations to the CDC, they usually do. This recommendation is the first of several expected from the panel over the coming weeks as the vaccines from both Pfizer and Moderna go through final approval. 
There are approximately three million people living in long- term care facilities which account for 39% of all deaths related to the coronavirus. There are another 21 million health care workers who would also qualify to receive the first doses of the virus. States and health care systems may have to decide who gets the vaccine first as there won’t be enough at first for everyone, with an estimated 22.5 million Americans (at most) receiving the vaccine by the end of the year. 
 
The first recommendation is considered Phase 1a, with the next group being Phase 1b, which will be essential workers accounting for another 85 million Americans. A division of the Department of Homeland Security came up with this list, including teachers and others in schools, emergency responders, police, grocery workers, public transit and more. 
 
 
You can also monitor the vaccine recommendation phases by the CDC at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations-process.html

If you have any questions, please contact your ACBI professional via email or at 203-259-7580.