In PICS! Who should get coronavirus vaccine first?

The trial of some vaccines for corona virus has reached its final stage. Concerns are now being raised in some countries, including the United States, about who will get covid-19 coronavirus vaccine first

Discussions have begun to identify priority groups for initial vaccination against covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.

The highest priority would go to health-care and essential workers and high-risk populations.

This proposed group would also include older adults, residents of long-term-care facilities and people with underlying medical conditions.

A federal advisory panel that provides vaccine recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presented an overview of the priority groups last month and met again Wednesday to discuss the issue.

As officials and experts race to stop the pandemic, they are grappling with the fraught nature of establishing vaccination priorities. Clinical trials of at least two experimental vaccines have shown encouraging results and this week moved into final-stage testing for safety and effectiveness in 30,000 participants.

U.S. officials have said that if a vaccine is shown to be effective, the first doses could be available by the end of the year.

The decision-making will take place over the next few months and is certain to be controversial, experts said. Officials and experts must address a host of issues, including how much consideration should be given to race and ethnicity because of the disproportionate effect of covid-19 on communities of color.