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CDC panel recommends elderly, healthcare workers receive COVID-19 vaccine priority

By Madison Parry

A federal advisory panel has determined that healthcare workers and long-term care residents should be the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The short list of panel members includes one from KU Health, who said the decision was made based on anticipated short supply.

A resounding consensus on which groups should receive the first doses of a new COVID-19 vaccine has been determined after a vote from CDC panel on Tuesday.

The panel consists of 15 voting members responsible for making vaccine recommendations and is up of medical professionals from various regions of the U.S., including one from the University of Kansas Health System.

The 15-person committee makes up what is known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) selects these members following an application and nomination process.

Tuesday’s vote determined CDC recommendation for who will receive vaccine priority, the group electing that healthcare workers and long-term care facility members (such as those in nursing homes) should be the first to receive an approved vaccine.

Panel member Kevin Ault, MD with the University of Kansas Medical Center has served on the committee since October 2018.

Ault said the initial groups were deemed the highest priority by the committee because the vaccine will be in extremely short supply after it is cleared by federal regulators.

According to Ault, each group remains the most at risk, accounting for nearly 40 percent of deaths from COVID-19.