COVID-19 State Vaccination Priorities Change, As Needed

As COVID-19 vaccine distribution continues across the country, states are refining priority groups based on rolling federal guidance, vaccine supply or distribution issues, and local conditions.

The Kaiser Family Foundation reports, in its ongoing survey of how states are implementing the phased rollout recommended by the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), that states are increasingly diverging from CDC guidelines -- and from each other. Varying timelines further interrupted by weather and supply chain problems have resulted in a "vaccine rollout labyrinth" across the US.

The latest ACIP recommendations for prioritization for vaccination of groups at high-risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or severe complications are:

- Phase 1a: health care workers and long-term care facility residents
- Phase 1b: people ages 75+ years and non–health care frontline essential workers
- Phase 1c: people ages 65–74 years, persons ages 16–64 years with high-risk medical conditions, and essential workers not included in Phase 1b

In a recent update, the KFF survey found the situations sketched in the following slides.

For more COVID-19 coverage for primary care, visit our COVID-19 Resource Page.