The Trump administration is expected to provide new COVID-19 vaccination guidelines that will include extending vaccine eligibility to anyone 65 years of age and older, CNBC reported on Tuesday (Jan. 12), citing an unnamed senior official.
“The states are being told immediately they need to expand to 65-plus as well as those under 65 with comorbid conditions,” the official told CNBC. He added that by just targeting healthcare workers and nursing homes, states have unintentionally created a logjam.
The official announcement is expected at a Tuesday press conference for Trump’s vaccine program Operation Warp Speed, as the country strives to step up vaccination administration after a sluggish rollout.
The U.S. government initially set a goal of vaccinating 20 million people by the end of 2020 and 50 million by the end of January. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), over 25.4 million vaccines were distributed, but only 8.9 million people had gotten shots as of Monday (Jan. 11) at 9 a.m. ET.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn have both started encouraging states to roll out vaccinations beyond healthcare workers. Although the CDC suggests vaccinating healthcare workers and nursing homes first, states have the power to control distribution.
“I would strongly encourage that we move forward with giving states the opportunity to be more expansive in who they can give the vaccine to,” Hahn said last week at an event, per CNBC.
In an interview with PYMNTS, Jumio VP Reinhard Hochrieser said that as the travel industry comes back from the pandemic, various stakeholders will need to consider the use of a health document or digital confirmation that individuals have received a vaccine.
The latest installment of a PYMNTS pandemic research series shows that beyond vaccinations and post-pandemic, people will continue to seek a digital-first experience.
