WHO Europe, Nov. 23, 2020
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Select categories of health workers, older adults and residents of long-term care facilities should be prioritized for access to COVID-19 vaccines in the context of limited supply. This was recommended by WHO’s European Technical Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (ETAGE) at its online meeting on 11–12 November 2020.
Preparing for vaccination in the context of limited supply
Accelerated progress in the development and clinical trials of various candidate COVID-19 vaccines has brought the potential global rollout of the first licensed vaccines closer to fruition. With supply expected to be very limited in the initial stage of delivery, all countries must decide who should be vaccinated first to maximize the impact of limited doses in reducing the burden of disease in each country context. ETAGE met to provide countries in the WHO European Region with detailed guidance for making this important decision.
Based on the current understanding of the epidemiology of COVID-19 in the WHO European Region and the findings from modelling studies, ETAGE concurred with the recommendations laid out in the global WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) Roadmap for prioritizing uses of COVID-19 vaccines in the context of limited supply, and provided more detailed guidance on how to adapt the global recommendations to the context of countries in the WHO European Region.
ETAGE also stressed the important role of independent national immunization technical advisory groups (NITAGs), which will use the global and regional guidance to make specific recommendations for their own countries to facilitate national planning and preparedness for the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination.
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