Alabama still has a long way to go to vaccinate all of its health workers and nursing home residents, but the image of who will get the vaccines next is starting to emerge.
On December 27, the state administered vaccines to 20,354 of the more than 300,000 health professionals and nursing home residents and staff that make up Phase 1A of the state’s vaccine distribution plan.
But, once these are more advanced in 2021, the state will move on to the next phases of the plan.
We don’t know when Alabama will be able to move on to the next phase, but here’s the general order in which people will get the vaccine.
- Phase 1A: The first round of vaccines was designed for frontline health professionals, nursing homes or other residents and long-term care facility staff, as well as laboratory workers or personnel who perform COVID-19 tests and pathologists who perform autopsies. in people known or suspected of being infected when they died. These health professionals were organized at more detailed levels based on their perceived risk level in their work, with the highest risk individuals receiving the vaccine first. This phase is underway.
- Phase 1B: The next level to receive the vaccine includes Alabamians aged 75 and over, as well as people considered essential frontline workers. This includes law enforcement officers and firefighters, US Postal workers, correctional officers, food and agriculture workers, industry workers, grocery workers, public transport workers. Phase 1B also includes those working in the education sector, such as teachers, support staff members and also child caregivers.
- Phase 1C: Phase 1C includes all Alabamians aged 65 and over, as well as people aged 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions. These conditions include: cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, heart disease, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies, immunocompromised state, solid organ transplantation, obesity (BM> 30 kg / m2), sickle cell disease, smoking, Type 2 diabetes and pregnancy. This phase also includes additional essential workers in the areas of transport and logistics, waste and wastewater, food services, shelter and housing (for example, construction), finance (for example, bank tellers), information and communication technology, energy , legal, media, public safety (eg, engineers) and public health workers.
- Level 2: Phase 2 includes the general public and all Alabamians not included in Phase 1.
ADPH has not established a detailed timetable for when it can move from one phase to the next. The department says it will inform people on its website and through press releases when new groups of people are eligible to receive the vaccine.
Alabama health official Dr. Scott Harris said it could take months before the vaccine is available to the general public.
“We want to manage people’s expectations properly and remind the public that not everyone can have access to the vaccine at this time,” said Harris in a press release. “For the New Year holidays and after, I encourage people to stay home and keep their events short, out of the house when possible, and just with everyone wearing masks.”
For more details on the Alabama vaccine plan, see the ADPH website.