OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska officials say meatpacking plant workers, prison staffers and teachers will be among the first to be eligible for the Coronavirus vaccine after health care workers and people who work in long-term care facilities get it.
The first to get the vaccine, in group 1A will be healthcare workers, long term care residents and staff. The next group, group 1B, includes first responders, those in education, food and agriculture, utilities, transportation and correctional staff. Group 1C includes those 65 of age and older and other vulnerable populations.
Nebraska is expected to receive its first shipment of 15,600 doses next week from the drug maker Pfizer, assuming that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the vaccine this week.
Angie Ling, incident commander for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, says once the needs of hospitals and the care facilities are met, the state will expand on who is eligible. The vaccines will be shipped directly to hospitals, but the state will not say which ones.
"Due to security considerations we will not be giving out specific locations of these allocations. The Pfizer product will be going to eight hospitals who will be supporting an additional nine hospital systems with those initial product," Ling said.
CHI Health has already stated they expect to get the vaccines this week if approved.
"At this point we are expecting to have a vaccine maybe as early as this weekend and would be planning on starting to vaccinate staff as early as Monday," CHI Heath CEO Cliff Robertson said.
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