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“Current projections are of the order of 300,000 [allotments] in the first month or so, and it will take about a few months to get all of these doses given, ”said Dr. Robert Finberg, professor at the University of Massachusetts Worcester School of Medicine and a member of the Vaccine Advisory Group. the state. .
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Governor Charlie Baker reiterated that “people at high risk”, because of their job, their age or their physical condition, will be the first to supply the state with vaccines.
“This is probably where most of the activity will take place in December, January, February and March,” he said.
Assuming everything goes according to plan, “a citizen of Joe Q or Jane Q” will likely have access to the vaccine in the spring, Baker said.
The distribution plan, which could potentially involve the vast majority of the state’s nearly 7 million residents, will be highlighted after an emergency meeting of a Centers for Disease Control group on Tuesday afternoon preparing a national vaccine distribution framework. This will be followed by a Tuesday night meeting of Baker’s Vaccine Advisory Group, which will recommend who in the state gets the vaccines first. The governor’s plan should follow this recommendation.
States will have until Friday to submit their final plans to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to the federal government.
“We’re getting closer” to prioritizing, said Dr. Asif Merchant, a geriatrician at Newton-Wellesley Hospital who represents the Massachusetts Medical Society on the state’s vaccine advisory group. “Time is running out here.”
The CDC’s immunization priorities will not bind Massachusetts or other states. But most should broadly follow its recommendations and those of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. Although they differ in some areas, the two phasing plans rank direct healthcare workers “facing covid” as a top priority, including those who work in hospitals, adult assembly centers, health centers. community health and private homes.
High-risk sites, such as long-term care facilities, which have accounted for nearly two-thirds of virus deaths in Massachusetts, are also scrambling to be ahead of the pack. “There is a moral imperative to ensure that our staff and residents are top of the list,” said Tara Gregorio, president of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association.
Direct care health workers would be followed, in later phases, by other health workers and essential staff such as teachers and babysitters, transport and food supply; adults with two or more chronic diseases such as cancer or emphysema; people over 65; and young adults and children 8 to 12 years old.
Young children will not be vaccinated initially because they were not part of the early large-scale vaccine clinical trials. It is not yet known whether residents of long-term care facilities, who were also not included in the initial clinical trials, will be vaccinated during the first phase.
“These people weren’t enrolled in these vaccine trials, so there are questions as to whether they should be the first group,” Finberg said. “You might argue that they might not respond as well… or that they might have more side effects. But we don’t know.
While the precise “phasing” has yet to be determined, “we will work hard to stay in tune with the CDC,” State Senator Cindy Friedman of Arlington, a member of the advisory group, said.
Federal and state officials work on two separate supply chains for the first batch of vaccines. The state Department of Public Health is expected to assign shipments to hospital systems, which will determine where and how to administer their doses. And nursing homes, rest homes, and assisted living facilities are signing up to a pharmaceutical partnership program in which pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens will provide batches and administer injections.
Other vaccine access points should include community health centers and possibly retail pharmacies. The vaccine will be given free to recipients in Massachusetts, members of the advisory group said.
In a statement Tuesday, the DPH said it was working with the Vaccine Advisory Group to “develop plans for equitable and rapid distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine to communities in Massachusetts” based on guidelines from the CDC.
The State Advisory Group has met about twice a week for the past three weeks to discuss distribution priorities, and members describe their sessions as highly collaborative. Among the debates is how to balance the needs of cities and villages disproportionately affected during the pandemic with the need to protect broader health care infrastructure given the limited initial allocations.
But in their discussions, “healthcare workers are always at the top of the list,” said Dr. Marc Lipsitch, an advisory group member and professor of epidemiology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston. “It is a judgment that we must first protect the capacity of the health care system.”
At the same time, “equitable distribution” has been at the heart of their discussions, said Michael Curry, member of the advisory group and president of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers. Curry’s organization represents 52 community health centers across the state, which treat more than one million patients, many of whom are people of color or immigrants.
“It’s critical that we are included in the vaccine release process,” said Curry. “We know the most affected communities [by COVID-19] are the communities we serve. And we have a dilemma. Many of these communities do not trust the vaccine. “
While anti-vaccination sentiment is a challenge nationwide, the reluctance may be most acute among communities of color, particularly black Americans who recall a history of abuse and discrimination in communities. health care, and may not be trusted by government health authorities, Curry said.
To combat this sentiment, the League of Community Health Centers in Curry has scheduled a virtual town hall for staff members on December 16 to encourage vaccinations and try to reassure community members skeptical about the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
Other groups are also actively lobbying their members in anticipation of vaccines. “We support the prioritization of health workers, not only those who work in health facilities, but also those who work with a vulnerable population at home,” said Marlishia Aho, communications director for local 1199 of service workers, which represents more than 70,000 nurses and orderlies.
Finberg said the first phase of the state’s distribution plan could begin as early as the end of next week. From December 8 to 10, an expert advisory committee will meet to assess Pfizer’s emergency use request with the Food and Drug Administration.
If the FDA grants clearance, the CDC panel, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, will meet again to determine who should be vaccinated first. Once the CDC recommendations are approved, “the vaccine should come out the next day, hopefully,” Finberg said.
A similar process will follow soon after for the Moderna vaccine.
Robert Weisman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on twitter @GlobeRobW. Deanna Pan can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @DDpan.
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