The panel votes 13-1 to first give the vaccine to 2 groups

(Journalist)
– When the COVID-19 vaccination program begins, the first people to be vaccinated should be healthcare workers and residents of nursing homes, a leading federal advisory group has recommended. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the CDC, voted 13 to 1 in favor of administering the first doses to 21 million health workers and 3 million residents and staff of health care facilities. long duration, Washington post reports. The FDA is expected to grant emergency use clearance for vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna within weeks, but supply will be extremely limited from the start. The group had planned to wait for vaccine approval before making recommendations, but decided to act before Friday’s deadline for states to place orders for the Pfizer vaccine.

Some panelists – including Vanderbilt University associate professor of medicine Helen Keipp Talbot, the sole dissident – said they had concerns about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines on frail residents of the long-term settlements, reports the AP. Talbot also warned that public confidence in the vaccine could be eroded when residents of vaccinated nursing homes die of unrelated causes. “I think you’re going to have a very striking reaction from ‘My grandmother got the vaccine and she passed away,’” Talbot said, according to NPR. “They are probably not related, but it will be remembered.” The committee’s recommendations, which states will use for guidance. will now be sent to CDC Director Robert Redfield for final approval. (Read more stories about coronavirus vaccines.)