CDC advisory panel will not vote on initial COVID-19 vaccine roll-out yet
(Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday its planned advisory committee meeting on the allocation of the initial limited doses of a potential COVID-19 vaccine would not include voting on who will get the first shots.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a group of external medical experts that advises the CDC, was expected to vote on Tuesday on a plan to prioritize initial doses of any vaccine that proves safe and effective in clinical trials. https://bit.ly/2FUqi5s
However, a spokeswoman for the agency told Reuters that no voting is planned for the session.
The committee may wait until government officials authorize a specific vaccine or vaccines for use before voting on how to give priority to initial doses, the Wall Street Journal report https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-advisory-panel-to-delay-vote-on-initial-covid-19-vaccine-roll-out-11600772401?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=2ed on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The vaccine distribution is recommended to occur in a phased manner, with healthcare personnel, essential workers, people with high-risk medical conditions and adults over 65 years likely to receive vaccine in the first phase, according to meeting presentation https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2020-09/COVID-07-Dooling.pdf posted on the agency's website.
There is no approved vaccine for the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus and companies such as Pfizer Inc, AstraZeneca Plc and Moderna Inc have vaccine candidates in late-stage clinical testing.
(Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Maju Samuel)
