Frontline workers should be next for COVID shots: CDC

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel on Sunday recommended that frontline essential workers and persons 75 years and older should be next in line to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

This report produced by Freddie Joyner

An advisory panel for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday recommended that frontline essential workers and people aged 75 years and older should be next in line to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Frontline workers account for 30 million people in the United States, including first responders, teachers, those who work in food and agriculture, manufacturing, the U.S. Postal Service, public transit, and grocery store workers.

The panel voted 13-1 in favor of the move.

In all, that would bring the total number of people eligible to receive the vaccine in the next round to 49 million.

The ensuing round of about 57 million non-frontline workers are expected to include those in media, finance, energy, IT & communication industries, people between 65 and 74, and those aged between 16 and 64 with high-risk conditions.