Smokers have prioritized the COVID-19 vaccine in New Jersey. The teachers “feel devalued” by the decision.

Some New Jersey residents are angered after state officials prioritized COVID-19 vaccines this week for smokers over educators and transit officials. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on Thursday opened up eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccination to smokers, who have been classified as part of a “high-risk” group.

The reaction on social media was swift.

As of now, people in the following groups are eligible to be vaccinated in the state of New Jersey, according to the state’s COVID-19 Information Center:

It was the “high risk” category that raised questions. In addition to people 65 and over, this includes people with the following health conditions, depending on the condition:

• Cancer

• Chronic kidney disease

• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)

• Down syndrome

• Heart disease, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies

• Obesity

• Severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg / m2)

• Sickle cell anemia

• Smoking

• Type 2 diabetes mellitus

As the state just opened up vaccinations to first responders and high-risk people, it says online that other essential frontline workers will come next, followed by “other essential workers” and the general population. .

The story continues

Other states have not prioritized smokers, but some have deprioritized teachers. Alabama in particular recently pushed teachers back into the vaccine priority line. While teachers are part of the state’s Phase 1B vaccine rollout behind frontline healthcare workers and long-term care residents, other critical workers like first responders and people aged 75 years and more have been moved forward. Meanwhile, some states like Maryland are planning to open vaccination for teachers as early as Monday.

Many teachers in New Jersey are “angry” at the decision and “feel devalued,” Donna M. Chiera, president of the American Federation of New Jersey Teachers, told Yahoo Life. “It’s a contradictory message from the state,” she said. “We are told that we have to bring the students back to the classroom and that we have to normalize the education system, but we have to do it safely.”

“We understand that smoking is addictive and that it is not easy to quit, and that these people are more at risk if they catch the virus,” she explains. “But you can’t say that opening schools is a top priority if you keep taking teachers off the list.”

Chiera says she has also heard from many people in higher education who are frustrated with being in group 1C for immunization, behind the lower level teachers, who are in group 1B. “They were already bored of having to queue for all of 1B, and now we’ve expanded 1B so they can have to wait until May or June to get the shot,” she said. “It’s very disconcerting to everyone that we are told that education is valued and that we need to open schools and universities, but now we have lost the vaccination tool to do so safely.

“We have said from the start that educators should have priority access to the vaccine. This is an important step towards a safer return to in-person learning, ”Steven Baker, director of the New Jersey Education Association, told Yahoo Life. have been in constant communication with government officials regarding educators’ access to immunization. We reiterated to them the need to do whatever is necessary to expedite this access, even in light of the Trump administration’s revised federal guidelines and the slow federal rollout of the actual vaccine. “

Baker hopes that under the new Biden administration there will be “much better presidential leadership.”

“Our schools are too important to wait one more day than necessary,” he said.

Note: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not list smokers in their prioritization for the COVID-19 vaccine. Under CDC leadership, smokers would likely be vaccinated after Phase 1C, along with other members of the public.

New Jersey’s decision to prioritize smokers is even controversial within the medical community. “It’s an unfortunate decision,” Dr. Richard Watkins, infectious disease specialist and professor of internal medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University, told Yahoo Life. “People choose to smoke and it has a very negative impact on their health.”

Watkins says it’s “doubtful” that early vaccination of smokers will have a significant impact on the pandemic, but the same is not true for other groups. “Teachers’ vaccinations protect them and the children,” he says. “For transport workers, it’s similar in that it protects them so the system can continue to function and protect passengers.” Watkins says people who work in stores should also be given priority over smokers.

But putting smokers first is rooted in science, says Dr. Michael Steinberg, medical director of the Rutgers Center for Tobacco Studies, at Yahoo Life. “The strongest evidence we have is that current smokers are at an increased risk of developing serious illness if they are infected with the virus,” he says. “The evidence as to whether smokers are at a higher risk of actually contracting the virus is less clear.” Smokers may be at greater risk of contracting the virus because they cannot wear a mask while smoking, and some may smoke in groups, he points out.

Prioritizing smokers is also consistent with general public immunization goals. “The aim of the vaccine is to reduce the damage caused by this virus by preventing serious illness and by preventing people from entering the hospital,” says Dr. Amesh A. Adalja, infectious disease specialist, principal investigator at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security Yahoo Life. “Smokers, like it or not, are at greater risk of developing complicated COVID.”

If the aim of the vaccine is to prevent serious illness, then “it is optimally targeted to those who are at higher risk of hospitalization and death,” says Adalja. He also adds this: “The early deployment of the vaccine in the United States is not really designed to limit the spread but to prevent serious disease by targeting those most at risk of hospitalization and death.”

It’s “difficult” to try to compare the risk between high-risk groups, such as smokers, educators and transit workers, says Steinberg. “We just don’t have enough evidence to be able to distinguish the factors that pose the highest risk,” he says. “I hope that as vaccine distribution improves, we will have enough vaccine in a short period of time to immunize all high-risk people as soon as possible.”

Overall, Steinberg recommends that smokers do their best to quit, whether they are a priority for the vaccine or not. “As always, we suggest that the best advice for smokers, both regarding the pandemic and beyond, is to quit smoking as soon as possible and make full use of the tobacco treatment resources available. in your community.

For the latest news and updates on the coronavirus, follow to https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those with compromised immune systems continue to be at greatest risk. If you have any questions, please consult the CDC and WHO resource guides.

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