‘Older populations are whiter,’ explains Harald Schmidt, an ethics and health policy expert at UPenn
The debate over who should next get COVID-19 vaccines has intensified following suggestions that older people should be prioritized because they are more likely to be white.
“Older populations are whiter,” explains Harald Schmidt, an ethics and health policy expert at the University of Pennsylvania, in an interview with the New York Times.
‘Society is structured in such a way that they can live longer. Rather than giving extra health benefits to those who already had more, we can level the playing field a little bit, ‘he explains.
After the first week of the introduction of vaccines to health professionals in high-risk positions, a federal panel of vaccination experts will hold an emergency meeting over the weekend to recommend who should be next to be vaccinated.
Based on a preliminary vote, the panel is expected to recommend that non-health workers should be prioritized over the elderly in the roll-out of vaccinations.
An 88-year-old Florida resident will be given the Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday. The debate over who should get the next COVID-19 vaccines has intensified
Schmidt defended his comments in a series of tweet on Friday
The panel will vote on Sunday, but its guidelines are not binding, as each state ultimately decides how to manage vaccine distribution.
The panelists tend to put “essential workers” in second place because people such as bus drivers, shop assistants and others who perform essential tasks that cannot be done from home are the most likely to become infected.
Race has also entered the debate, with some like Schmidt pointing out that key workers are more likely not to be white than the elderly.
In a tweet on Friday, Schmidt got back to his comments, claiming that he had ‘never prioritized race-only’.
He further argued that it was easier for older populations to isolate themselves than essential workers, who may have no choice but to interact with the public through their jobs.
However, the comments sparked backlash, with one Twitter user replying, ‘I can’t comprehend how anyone could have your opinion. … It was always about protecting the old. ‘
Another agreed: ‘Vaccines should go to those most at risk of dying from them, and that is by far a function of age. good to know that racism is alive at the academy. ‘
So the elderly are not only unimportant; they are actually quite replaceable, “commented another.” They’ve been stuck in their house for nine months for being “ vulnerable, ” but the healthy 25-year-old liquor store worker needs the vax first. ‘
The vast majority of deaths during the pandemic were among those over the age of 65. According to data from the CDC, people over 85 are 630 times more likely to die from the virus than 18 to 29 year olds.
At the same time, there are also racial differences in the health outcomes. The CDC says black and Hispanic people are both 2.8 times more likely to die from the virus than whites.
The advice of the expert panel – the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices – is almost always endorsed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That’s what happened earlier this month, when the group said top priority should be given to health workers and long-term care home residents for the first 20 million vaccinations this month.
However, it’s not clear whether the CDC will follow the panel if it recommends prioritizing essential workers over the elderly for the next vaccination.
CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield has said he believes priority should be given to people 70 and older living with children or grandchildren.
The chairman of the advisory panel, Dr. Jose Romero, said he was aware of Redfield’s comments but had not spoken to him directly.
Redfield declined to say whether he would prioritize seniors over essential workers, even if the panel recommended the opposite. “I look forward to listening to the advisory group’s discussion and receiving the recommendation for consideration,” he said in an email.
‘I think we know this isn’t going to be perfect. We don’t have a vaccine for everyone right away, so we’ll have to make tough decisions, ” said Claire Hannan, executive director of an organization that represents managers of national vaccination programs.
An Amazon employee was spotted at a shipping center in Minnesota last month. Some argue that essential workers should take precedence over the elderly when receiving a vaccine
If, indeed, essential workers are next, states already have different ideas about which of them should be at the front of the queue.
For example, in Nevada, under the state’s current plan, teachers and daycare workers will be ahead of public transportation workers. Then come farmers and food workers, and then retail and utility workers.
In South Dakota, teachers were able to gain entry earlier than those working in food and transportation. In Arkansas, the list of essential workers includes educators, prison guards, police officers, meat-packing plant workers, and mayors.
Most states followed the panel’s recommendation that health professionals and nursing home residents receive the very first doses. But there are a few exceptions.
Utah said long-term care residents should line up behind health workers, rather than share the front line with them. Massachusetts included prisoners and homeless people in the first tier. Nevada, New Hampshire, and Wyoming did the same for police officers.
The variations between states are likely to increase in the following priority groups, said Jennifer Kates of the Kaiser Family Foundation, who analyzed the state’s vaccination plans.
“ I think we’ll see states falling apart in different ways, ” with some putting older people above essential workers, Kates said.
CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield has said he believes priority should be given to people 70 and older living with children or grandchildren
It can get messy. For example, some experts said that if a state prioritizes certain essential workers and a neighboring state decides to give preference to seniors, people could try to cross state lines in the hope of getting vaccinated.
“That’s one of the problems with not having a full national vaccination plan,” said Romero, who is also the head of the Arkansas state health department.
The proposal submitted by the advisory committee is based on a broad definition of essential employees as adopted by the US Department of Homeland Security in August. It counts hundreds of different jobs as part of its critical infrastructure workforce, including first responders, teachers, communications technicians, weather forecasters, sewage treatment plant workers, and people working in animal shelters.
According to estimates submitted to the advisory committee, as many as 87 million people who do not work in health care could be considered essential employees.
The country has more than 53 million seniors. The CDC also counts more than 100 million Americans with underlying medical conditions that put them at higher risk for serious COVID-related illness, although there is overlap between the two groups.
Trade associations and workers’ groups have sent emails and other communications to the committee, arguing that they should be prioritized.
Julie Russell, who represented California’s Coronado Unified School District, insisted that teachers and other school staff should be prioritized. “We ask you to recognize the importance of the safety of our workforce and how many young lives we all come into contact with,” she said at a panel meeting last weekend.
Dr. Charles Lee of the American College of Correctional Physicians urged those who work in jails and prisons, plus inmates.
Romero said the committee will likely discuss ways to help states determine which key workers should go first. For example, people who are considered essential but can work from home may be placed lower on the list than those who cannot stay six feet away from others on the job.
What about the staff of the Atlanta-based CDC? In a memo to employees obtained by the AP, Redfield said the agency will not receive a direct vaccine allocation. However, under Georgia’s plan, certain public health and laboratory workers may belong to the state’s highest priority group. Some CDC employees also work in hospitals and clinics and may be given priority over staff in those places.
Of course, as more vaccines come out, “the matter of priority becomes less important,” said Dr. Eric Toner, a scientist from Johns Hopkins University who has written about possible vaccination priorities.
“The bottom line is we need to get as many people vaccinated as soon as possible,” he said.