CDC Panel meets today to vote on who gets Covid-19 vaccine first

A panel of experts will meet today to vote on how the initial supplies of a Covid-19 vaccine will be given out once one has been approved.

The team, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, drawn from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will have a sit down to deliberate on who will be vaccinated first once the scarce vaccines are out.

Experts had earlier proposed giving the vaccine to health workers, people with certain underlining medical conditions and population ages of 65 years and above.

Work to distribute the experimental vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE has been gearing up after the companies announced successful interim data earlier this month.

However, there were some limitations to efforts to have the vaccine in pharmacies for the general public due to the vaccine’s complex and super-cold storage requirements that could be an obstacle for even the most sophisticated hospitals in the developed countries.

This may impact when the vaccine will be available in poor countries where they have inadequate resources.

The data had showed that the two companies’ experimental vaccine is 90 per cent effective at preventing the virus that has infected 63,589,977 people and killed 1,473,927, globally.

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have asked the Food and Drug Administration to allow emergency use of its Covid-19 vaccine.

The FDA plans to make a decision on Pfizer and BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine within a few weeks of a key meeting scheduled for December 10.

Reports indicate manufacturers have already begun stockpiling the vaccine doses in anticipation of eventual approval.