The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) provides recommendations for how COVID-19 vaccine should be prioritized during the early rollout while vaccine supplies are limited. While states set their own prioirty groups, these recommendations often serve as the foundation. The ACIP released updated recommendations over the weekend on what additional groups should be prioritized as vaccine supply increases. On Dec. 01, ACIP recommended initial limited doses of vaccine go to healthcare workers and residents and staff of long-term care facilities (phase 1a). On Dec. 20, ACIP updated interim recommendations to provide guidance for who to include in phase 1b and 1c. Phase 1b includes persons ages 75 years or older and non-health care frontline essential workers. Phase 1c includes persons aged 65-74 years, persons aged 16-64 years with high-risk medical conditions, and essential workers not included in Phase 1b. The state of Ohio has not yet defined priority groups outside of phase 1a. Currently, no specific timetable has been established for when Ohio may be able to move into additional phases. This decision will be based on vaccine availability. To view the ACIP’s latest recommendations, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/
Stay Informed: The Union County Health Department will continue to provide information on COVID-19 vaccine, who is currently eligible for vaccination, and status on the progress of vaccination in Union County. Please continue to check our email updates and unioncountycovid.org for the latest updates. We are not currently maintaining a wait list of individuals interested in vaccination. For healthcare providers that meet the phase 1a eligibility and are interested in receiving the COVID-19 vaccination, please email contact@uchd.net.