. Current estimates project that no more than 20 million doses of each vaccine will be available by the end of 2020. And each product requires two doses.The advisory panel will meet again at some point to decide who should be next in line. Among the possibilities: teachers, police, firefighters and workers in other essential fields such as food production and transportation; the elderly; and people with underlying medical conditions.
The outbreak in the U.S. has killed nearly 270,000 people and caused more than 13.5 million confirmed infections, with deaths, hospitalizations and cases rocketing in recent weeks. During the discussion period, panel members asked about how the vaccine doses would be prioritized within the groups in Phase 1a. Other questions addressed vaccine safety and adverse events monitoring after people received the vaccine.
For months, members of the immunization panel had said they wouldn’t take a vote until the FDA approved a vaccine. That is customary procedure for the panel, with some exceptions, such as during a flu outbreak in 2009. But late last week, the group suddenly scheduled an emergency meeting for Tuesday.
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, who is also not on the panel, agreed that the decision for panel to make recommendations before the FDA meets is unusual.
For the LOVE OF GOD, teachers next please.
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