After Healthcare Workers, These Groups are Recommended By The CDC to Get The COVID-19 Vaccine

After Healthcare Workers, These Groups are Recommended By The CDC to Get The COVID-19 Vaccine
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) brings a new recommendation for what groups of Americans should be vaccinated for the terrible COVID-19 disease. Healthcare workers are already getting vaccinated, which is a reasonable decision. Doctors and nurses are in the frontline as they have to fight with the coronavirus and treat patients who suffer from it as well.

There were a lot of speculations for what categories of people must get vaccinated first, and we must admit the existence of that large group of sceptics that will always be around in any country on Earth.

Old people and frontline workers should be next

An advisory panel from CDC recommends that the next targeted groups for vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 virus are elders above the age of 75 and frontline workers that are very exposed to infections, like teachers, firefighters, police, and grocery workers. The vaccine rollout is currently under Phase 1A in the US, meaning that those receiving it are healthcare professionals and long-term residents from healthcare facilities, such as nursing homes.

If Phase 1B will include people above the age of 75 and frontline workers, the next stage is Phase 1C. The latter will cover those Americans of ages between 65 and 74 years old, but also other essential workers and citizens 16-64 that suffer from high-risk medical conditions.

57 million people for Phase 1C

30 million Americans fall into the Phase 1B category, while Phase 1C targets almost double of that amount. The latter include other essential workers who are exposed to infection with the coronavirus, such as those who have jobs in transportation, finance, IT and communications, logistics, food service, construction, energy, media, the legal sector, and public safety.

The vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is the one used in the US against COVID-19, while two other countries had also been very fast in approving the drug: Canada and the UK. While about 500,000 people had already received the first shot of the vaccine in the US, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) also authorized the drug several hours ago for all countries that are members of the European Union.

448 million EU citizens could receive the COVID-19 vaccine

Four hundred forty-eight million people are currently living in the European Union, and it’s not sure yet how many of them will get vaccinated. As before, elders and those working in the medical field should be the first categories on the list. Vaccination in the European Union’s countries will begin in only a few days.

A new COVID-19 strain emerged in the UK is on the rise. Countries like France, Russia, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Germany, and others are dealing with a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s infecting many more people than the first one. Over 311,000 people died in the European Union because of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

EMA announced an efficacy of 95% of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, same as it was reported during the clinical trials. Emer Cooke, who is EMA’s executive director, declared:

Today’s positive news is an important step forward in our fight against this pandemic, which has caused suffering and hardship for so many,

Those who are sceptical about the safety of the drug should take into account this other statement from Emer Cooke:

Our thorough evaluation means that we can confidently assure EU citizens of the safety and efficacy of this vaccine and that it meets necessary quality standards.

While some people had been worried that the new strain of COVID-19 that’s currently spreading in the UK would represent a challenge too big for the Pfizer vaccine, experts are contradicting them firmly. The new strain is only more infectious than the first version of the coronavirus, not also stronger for the immune system.


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Anna is an avid blogger with an educational background in medicine and mental health. She is a generalist with many other interests including nutrition, women's health, astronomy and photography. In her free time from work and writing, Anna enjoys nature walks, reading, and listening to jazz and classical music.

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