PHOENIX — The Center for Disease Control's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 13-1 to recommend priority be given to health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities in the first days of any coming COVID-19 vaccination program when doses are expected to be very limited.
"It's the light at the end of a dark tunnel," said Executive Director for the Arizona Public Health Association, Will Humble.
“We are intimately facing a horrible hospital crisis and at the same time we have a vaccine which is the beginning to an end of this pandemic being approved for emergency use within weeks.”
In October, the Arizona Department of Health Services released a COVID-19 Vaccination Draft Plan, anticipating the CDC’s recommendation but as of now, there are still many questions for the state to answer in terms of how, where and when Arizona will get the vaccine.
A spokesperson from ADHS tells 12 News that now that the CDC has set prioritization, the state's vaccine advisory group will meet to apply to the draft plan.
The Food and Drug Administration is now considering both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in the coming weeks.
"The dawn is coming but we are going to have a really dark early December with hospitalizations, but the light is at the end of the tunnel with these two vaccines," said Humble.
Humble believes once the FDA grants emergency use authorization, the vaccine could be on it's way to stakeholders the following day. The initial phase of the vaccine will be limited due to availability. As of now, the FDA will meet to consider the Pfizer vaccine on Dec. 10.
"The Pfizer vaccine lends itself most to mass vaccination because of the cold change requirements, which is good because initial populations are people working in healthcare and nursing homes," said Humble.
By the end of December, the CDC expects the number of doses to be about 40 million, which is enough to vaccinate 20 million people and anticipates five to 10 million doses available per week post after authorization.
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