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There will likely be a limited supply of doses of coronavirus vaccine available immediately after a vaccine is cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“Besides healthcare workers, the others who will be the first to catch it will be people with underlying chronic diseases who are older, as well as communities of color that have been disproportionately affected by this pandemic. “Gounder told CNN.
“Now among these groups, this is where it starts to get a little more controversial,” she added. “How do you prioritize between the 85-year-old woman in a nursing home and the 65-year-old African American – especially when that 65-year-old may be just as at risk for serious illness?”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will recommend that groups receive the vaccine first.
“This is where it gets a little more political and frankly, this is where the President-elect leaves it to public health experts and scientists to determine how best to allocate the limited supply first. “said Gounder.
ACIP has called an emergency meeting for December 1, where they will vote on the very first group to receive a vaccine.
“Because we know the vaccine will be available in very limited doses, even if they prioritize health workers and the elderly in their population, it will be really important to be a little more specific,” said Rick Bright, another member of Biden’s Coronavirus Advisory Board.
“They’re going to discuss this granularity in healthcare workers. If I only have a limited number of doses available, how do I prioritize these healthcare workers first and make these recommendations to states?” he added.
Typically, ACIP meets after a vaccine is cleared by the FDA to make recommendations, but they work proactively in anticipation of an early FDA decision.
“We anticipate imminent authorization if this vaccine proves to be effective and safe in the near future and we want to be at the point where we provide appropriate advice to states and jurisdictions for the use of these vaccines,” said the president of ACIP, Dr. Jose Romero told CNN.
Romero, who is the health secretary for the Arkansas Department of Health, said Tuesday’s vote concerned the very first group to receive vaccines, which could include health care providers and people in long-term settlements.
Pfizer has applied to the FDA for emergency use authorization for its vaccine. An independent panel of experts, the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biologics Advisory Committee, is due to meet on December 10 to discuss the application. FDA officials say a decision should be made within weeks of the meeting and possibly much sooner.
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