A big group of essential workers will be eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine around the beginning of April. They include food and agriculture workers and the Idaho National Guard. But in terms of who comes after them, members of Idaho's coronavirus vaccine committee didn't come to a decision in their meeting Friday.
The advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the next group eligible to receive the vaccine after a cohort of essential workers — Group 3 — includes people 16 to 64 years of age with high-risk medical conditions and all other essential workers.
But Idaho could take a different approach by prioritizing people by age.
“The age-based approach, so option D, it’s much simpler both from a provider standpoint, but also the general public to be able to understand when they qualify," said Rob Geddes of Alberton's pharmicies said during Idaho's coronavirus vaccine advisory meeting on Friday.
Members on the state committee were torn about whether to prioritize people simply by age or to factor in high-risk medical conditions. They did not make a final decision.
The advisory committee also says higher ed faculty and staff are not eligible for the vaccine right now, unlike K-12 educators. And public library workers are not up yet either. They will all get the vaccine with the general public.
Find reporter Rachel Cohen on Twitter @racheld_cohen
Copyright 2021 Boise State Public Radio
