By oracknows on August 16, 2015.
The approval of new drugs and medical devices is a process fraught with scientific, political, and ethical landmines. Inherent in any such process is an unavoidable conflict between rigorous science and safety on the one side, which tend to slow the process down by requiring large randomized clinical trials that can take years, versus forces that demand faster approval. For example, patients suffering from deadly diseases demand faster approval of drugs that might give them the hope of surviving their disease, or at least of surviving considerably longer. This is a powerful force for reform, as evidenced by HIV/AIDS activism in the 1980s and 1990s that led to the development of fast-track approval mechanisms for drugs for life-threatening conditions, a change whose effects have been mixed. It s also a powerful force potentially for ill, as I ve documented in my posts about the understandable but misguided right-to-try movement. Af
As Greg Gonsalves, a professor of epidemiology at
Yale University, argued, an age-based rollout doesn t guarantee equitable distribution of vaccines. If you have access to resources, you re computer literate, and you have some savvy in working your way through the system to sign up for vaccines you re going to be first in line no matter what age class you re in, he said.
Moreover, he pointed out that an age-based approach also ignores racial disparities in Covid-19 risk. The risk of death for somebody who is African-American and between 55 and 65 may be higher than somebody who s over 65, for instance, Gonsalves said.
Listen • 3:46
Trinity Health RN Kayla Bennett gives Hartford, Conn., resident James Watts his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a neighborhood vaccine clinic at the at the Parker Memorial Community Center.
A number of states are breaking with federal guidelines and starting to vaccinate people by age group, drawing criticism from essential workers and people with underlying conditions who are getting bumped back in line.
In Connecticut, officials say they re trying to balance equity with speeding up the pace of vaccinations. Under a new vaccination plan that began on March 1, educators are still prioritized but essential workers like grocers, security officers and janitors, who would have been next in line, now have to wait until their age group comes up.
Some States Drop CDC Guidelines And Vaccinate People By Age Group
By Brenda Leon
March 3, 2021
A number of states are breaking with federal guidelines and starting to vaccinate people by age group, drawing criticism from essential workers and people with underlying conditions who are getting bumped back in line.
In Connecticut, officials say they’re trying to balance equity with speeding up the pace of vaccinations. Under a new vaccination plan that began on March 1, educators are still prioritized but essential workers like grocers, security officers and janitors, who would have been next in line, now have to wait until their age group comes up.
Some States Drop CDC Guidelines And Vaccinate People By Age Group
at 5:10 am NPR
A number of states are breaking with federal guidelines and starting to vaccinate people by age group, drawing criticism from essential workers and people with underlying conditions who are getting bumped back in line.
In Connecticut, officials say they re trying to balance equity with speeding up the pace of vaccinations. Under a new vaccination plan that began on March 1, educators are still prioritized but essential workers like grocers, security officers and janitors, who would have been next in line, now have to wait until their age group comes up.