A panel of advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected to meet Tuesday to discuss who should first receive the COVID-19 vaccine once it’s been approved.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices wants to vote on who should receive the first batches of the vaccine prior to the Food and Drug Administration deciding on an emergency-use authorization, the committee’s chair, Dr. Jose Romero told CNN.
Medical experts have suggested health workers should receive the vaccine first, followed by essential workers, and then people with high-risk medical conditions and those 65 and older.
“There are not going to be sufficient vaccines for everybody in the first allotment,” Romero told CNN.
“It is important for the public to understand that we are dealing with select groups of individuals — not the general public.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has said the U.S. expects to see 40 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine available by the end of December.
Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have applied for an emergency use authorization from the FDA, and Moderna is expected to do so soon. The FDA’s committee on vaccines is meeting on Dec. 10 to review Pfizer’s vaccine application.
With Post Wires
