The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Tuesday voted 13-1 to approve the recommendation that the first available COVID-19 vaccines should be distributed to essential healthcare personnel and older adults, specifically those residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
The highest-priority groups are known as Phase 1A of the CDC’s vaccine distribution plan. Phase 1B includes the broader group of workers deemed “essential” by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), which includes chicken processing workers.
The recommendations are not binding, but many states have since announced they plan to follow the recommendations made by ACIP.
The ACIP decision was made prior to the federally-imposed deadline on states to submit initial vaccine distribution plans. The guidance was also issued prior to FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) is expected to be granted to the first two vaccines – from Pfizer and Moderna – that are currently under production and late-stage testing. The ACIP will meet on December 10 and 17 to review the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, respectively.
The ACIP plans to refine and finalize its full recommendations for vaccine distribution and use after those EUAs are authorized and before ACIP can see late-stage trial data on vaccines currently in final testing. The final recommendations will then go to CDC Director Robert Redfield.
