The Two Authorized COVID-19 Vaccines and Who Is Next in Line to Receive Them

An ICU nurse receives a COVID-19 vaccination. Source.

Cases and consequences of the coronavirus continue to soar throughout the nation. An average of more than 200,000 cases were reported per day last week. COVID-19 related deaths and hospitalizations have also been on the rise, as the US surpasses 300,000 deaths. These numbers could begin to decline in the coming months with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) emergency use authorization of two promising vaccines. However, in order for it to work, people have to take it. Some are skeptical about the fast paced development of the vaccine and policymakers question who should have priority when distributing the doses.   

In the past few weeks both the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna vaccine got emergency use authorization by the FDA and began shipping them to states. This is after just 11 months of creation and testing, making it the fastest developed vaccine in history. While this authorization is more limited and a much quicker process than a regular approval, it still requires multiple phases of testing. In the third and final phase of necessary testing for the vaccine, well over 3,000 people must participate in the study and the benefits must outweigh the harm of the product. Both Pfizer and BioNTech and Moderna each enrolled over 30,000 participants in their phase three trial. Based on these studies, both vaccines had an efficacy rate of about 95%. As the vaccines are distributed and more people get them, scientists will further observe the effects they have. While polls show confidence is growing in the vaccine, some are still hesitant.

Now that the vaccines are being shipped out, states must decide who will get them first. Especially in the first few shipments, the demand for the vaccine outnumbers the supply. The CDC recommends healthcare workers and residents of long term care facilities receive the vaccine first. However, even this recommendation comes with tough decisions for states. There are over 21 million people in this category throughout the US, and there are not enough vaccines to reach all of them in the first shipment. This has resulted in some frontline workers not receiving a vaccine.  

After these workers, following priority is dependent on individual states. Many plan on vaccinating essential workers and people over the age of 75, who are both at a higher risk for catching the virus. Although, there is also some debate about who should be prioritized and who should even be included in these phases. One of these debates has centered around whether race should be a factor in who is prioritized. The pandemic has disproportionately affected people of color, with Black Americans dying due to COVID-19 three times more than White Americans. Many states have incorporated some ways to account for equity concerns into their plans. Some, such as California and New Jersey have outlined specific practices to address the issue. Others are more vague. 

Prison and jail populations are another group that varies in priority level across state lines. This group is also considered high risk. They are up to ten times as likely to catch the virus due to living in such close quarters without much protection. This has led some states to put inmates and staff in phase one, while some others put them at medium or low priority. 

These vaccines are a major advancement in the fight against COVID-19. With cases still rising and the economy still falling, this could be the beginning of a recovery. Though the ethical questions surrounding who will get the vaccine still remain; millions of doses are being distributed across the nation, bringing some added protection and hope to many.