State Disaster Medical Advisory Committee's Vaccine Subcommittee Approves Phase 1B Recommendations

Wednesday, January 13th, 2021 -- 12:01 PM

(WMTV) The State Disaster Medical Advisory Committee’s Vaccine Subcommittee voted to approve the COVID-19 vaccine Phase 1b recommendations for public comment Tuesday.

The subcommittee debated who should be included in Phase 1b and the language that should be included in the recommendations.  There are several groups on the proposed list.

The group cited people over the age of 70 as a recommendation to get the vaccine next as they are at high-risk to get the virus.  The group also recommended including educators, child care workers, non-EMS first responders and mink farmers.

The group advised vaccinating these groups next due to the nature of their jobs, the difficulty in finding a trained replacement or other unique circumstances.

Finally, the subcommittee advised those living in congregate settings, such as prisons, should be considered for high prioritization due to the difficulty of easily implementing social distancing.

The subcommittee had previously given guidance for Phase 1a’s priority group, which included health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities.

Those who are interested in adding to the public comment have until next Monday, Jan. 18 to contribute. People can access the full recommendation document here.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.