DOVER, Del. (AP) – State health officials have finalized recommendations for the second stage of COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Delaware.
Public Health Director Dr. Karyl Rattay said Tuesday that the recipients of the second phase will be primary care workers and those over 65.
The Advisory Committee on Vaccination Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or ACIP, defines key primary care workers as first responders such as police and firefighters, school and childcare personnel, prison staff, and supermarket, food, and agricultural workers. manufacturing and public transport.
Rattay cautioned that not everyone in those groups will be vaccinated because risk exposure must be taken into account. For example, she noted that workers in poultry factories would have more difficulty than farmers in adhering to social distance guidelines.
A State Ethics Advisory Group voted last week to follow the committee’s recommendations to target key primary care workers and those 75 and older in the second round of vaccine distribution.
But the Department of Health chose to lower the eligibility age in Stage 1B from 75 to 65 based on statewide COVID-related deaths. Officials noted that while the mean age for deaths among white and Asian people is 82 and 83, respectively, the mean age for deaths among blacks is 74 and 66 for Hispanics.
“If we went with 75, we would have a real equity problem,” Rattay said.
Vaccinations for the Phase 1B group are expected to begin at the end of January.
Meanwhile, officials said Tuesday that 8,422 people in Delaware have received the first of two doses of the vaccine. Officials expect an additional 14,625 doses from Pfizer and 5,800 from Moderna this week.
Elsewhere, officials in neighboring Maryland reported a total of 36,669 vaccinations as of Wednesday morning, an increase of 8,052 from the previous day. More than half of the vaccinations took place in the Baltimore metropolitan area. Officials said the federal government’s total Maryland vaccination allocation to this week will include 140,300 doses of the Moderna vaccine and 133,575 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
Maryland officials did not say when the second phase of vaccine distribution would begin in that state, explaining that they are targeting the vaccination of people in the first priority group, including primary care workers, first responders, and long-term care personnel. and residents.
Maryland officials have also not said whether they intend to follow the CDC committee’s recommendation to target over-75s and front-line workers in the second round. A Maryland Department of Health spokesperson said Tuesday only that the second phase would include individuals “at significantly higher risk of serious COVID-19 disease.”
As of Wednesday, officials in Maryland reported 5,681 COVID-related deaths and 1,756 current hospitalizations.
Delaware officials reported 921 deaths and 425 current hospitalizations on Tuesday evening.