Foodservice Workers Recommended for Phase 1c of Covid-19 Vaccines
by David Klemt
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that foodservice workers be included in phase 1c of the Covid-19 vaccine plan.
On Sunday, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met to vote on phases 1b and 1c.
The committee identified those next in line for the two Covid-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna as “frontline essential workers” and people aged 75 years and older (phase 1b), and “other essential workers” (phase 1c).
Phase 1a consists of 24 million healthcare workers, residents of long-term care facilities (LTCF), and staff members who work at such facilities.
An estimated 49 million people are included in phase 1b. Roughly 30 million people in this group are categorized as frontline essential workers. Those in education (teachers, daycare workers, support staff), First Responders, United States Postal Service workers, corrections officers, grocery store workers, food and agriculture workers, those in manufacturing, and people who work in public transit will be inoculated in phase 1b.
People aged 16 to 64 who have high-risk medical conditions, those aged 65 to 74, and the other essential workers have been voted into phase 1c. Foodservice workers are among the roughly 57 million included in this phase, along with the media; construction workers; those who work in shelter and housing; transportation and logistics workers; those in finance, IT, communications, and the legal sector; people who work in the water and water waste industries; public safety workers; and the energy sector.
A lone dissent among the 13-1 vote came from Dr. Henry Bernstein. The doctor felt that, based on the available science, people aged 65 to 74 should have been included in phase 1b.
It’s important to note that states can go against the CDC’s “Phased Allocation of Covid-19 Vaccines” recommendations. For example, Governor Ron DeSantis has stated that the vaccines, which are not yet available to the general public, will go to people aged 70 and up in Florida in phase 1b. In Texas, those aged 65 years and older and people with certain chronic illnesses are said to be the state’s phase 1b priorities.
Other states may follow suit and deviate from the CDC’s phased allocations.
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