During a 12 p.m. meeting today, Idaho's COVID-19 vaccine advisory committee will vote to decide which groups should be first in line for a COVID-19 vaccine.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare expected to receive 13,600 inital doses of a vaccine in mid-December and a second shipment of the same amount three weeks later. Those two deliveries will allow a cohort of 13,600 Idahoans to receive their first and second doses of a vaccine. The vaccines likely to be available first both require two shots, weeks apart.
IDHW could receive an additional first shipment of a vaccine before the end of December, but it says the situation is evolving rapidly.
Health care workers nationwide will likely receive the vaccine first, shortly after one receives emergency authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (that's expected to happen in mid-December).
In its previous meetings, Idaho's COVID-19 vaccine advisory committee indicated that health care workes and staff who work at long-term care centers would be in Idaho's top priority group.
Earlier this week, an advisory team to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to recommend health care workers and long-term care staff get the vaccine first, as well, butit also included residents of long-term care centers in the first group.
Ultimately, prioritization for vaccine allocation is left up to the states.
You can listen to the vaccine meeting at 12 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4 at this link: https://idhw.webex.com/idhw/onstage/g.php?MTID=e3a3b4f86227a1cc3b1a0f17a5024c286.
The agenda for the meeting is here: https://publicdocuments.dhw.idaho.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=14292&dbid=0&repo=PUBLIC-DOCUMENTS&cr=1.
Find reporter Rachel Cohen on Twitter @racheld_cohen
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