U.S. committee details planned phased deployment of COVID-19 vaccines

• Clarifying the specific nature of how best to deploy scarce initial supplies of COVID-19 vaccines if and when approved, a special committee formed by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine recommends a staged rollout that prioritizes vulnerable populations of Americans. Key points:
• Phase 1a, covering 5% of the U.S. population, would be first. This group includes front-line health workers, workers who provide transportation and other services to healthcare facilities and first responders (police, firefighters, EMTs).
• Phase 1b, covering 10% of the population, would include people with health conditions that put them at higher-risk of severe COVID-19 or death and seniors at least 65 years of age who live in nursing homes, long-term care facilities, homeless shelters and prisons.
• Phase 2, covering another 30-35%, would include teachers and school staff for grades K-12, child-care workers and workers in high-risk settings who cannot avoid risk of exposure (e.g., food supply, public transit).
• Phase 3, covering another 40-45%, would include young adults, children and workers in colleges and hotels.
• Phase 4 would cover everyone else.
• Other recommendations include no out-of-pocket costs for getting vaccinated (personal expenses, even if low, would dampen demand).
• The feds plan to begin shipping doses within 24 hours of emergency use authorization which could happen this quarter.
• https://seekingalpha.com/news/3619650-u-s-committee-details-planned-phased-deployment-of-covidminus-19-vaccines