Some New Jersey residents are incensed after government officials this week prioritized COVID-19 vaccinations for smokers over educators and public transportation officials. On Thursday, Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey considered the COVID-19 vaccine for smokers, which was categorized as part of a group of “high-risk individuals.”
The response on social media was rapid.
@PhilMurphyNJ I respect and appreciate everything you have done on the Covid front for NJ, but smokers in front of teachers when it comes to vaccinations? !! This is absurd !! Smokers have chosen their health problems, teachers need to be safe in the classroom ASAP!
– Marc-my-words (@mdbteach) 14 January 2021
How is it that Smokers in NJ can get the vaccine now, but TEACHERS not yet ???
– Laurie Smith Wood (@LaurieSmithWood) 14 January 2021
I’m a smoker in NJ and have just chosen not to sign up for an appointment yet. Hopefully others will do the same. Teachers should get it absolutely first. I can choose to stay home and reduce my risk of contracting the virus
– Dina Lauren (@Dina_Lauren) 15 January 2021
According to the COVID-19 Information Hub, people in the following groups can be vaccinated in the state of New Jersey:
It is the category ‘high-risk individuals’ that has raised questions. In addition to individuals 65 years and older, this includes people with the following health conditions, according to the state:
-
Cancer
-
Chronic kidney disease
-
COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
-
Down syndrome
-
Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathy
-
Obesity
-
Severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg / m2)
-
Sickle cell disease
-
Smoke
-
Type 2 diabetes mellitus
While the state has just opened vaccinations for first responders and high-risk individuals, it says online that additional essential workers will be at the forefront, followed by “other essential workers” and the general population.
Other states did not put smokers first, but some left teachers behind. Alabama in particular has recently bumped teachers into the priority line for the vaccine. While teachers are part of the Phase 1B vaccine for public health workers and long-term caregivers, other essential workers, such as first responders and those aged 75 and over, have been moved in front of them. Meanwhile, some states like Maryland are planning to open vaccinations for teachers as early as Monday.
Many teachers in New Jersey are ‘angry’ about the decision and ‘feel devalued’, Donna M. Chiera, president of the American Federation of Teachers New Jersey, told Yahoo Life. “It’s a mixed message from the state,” she says. “We are told that we need to get students back in class and that we need to normalize the education system, but we need to do it safely.”
“We understand that smoking is an addiction and that it is not easy to quit, and that these people are at greater risk if they get the virus,” she explains. “But you can not say that opening schools is a top priority if your teachers keep moving.”
Chiera says she has also heard of many people in higher education who are frustrated because they are in group 1C for vaccination, behind teachers in the lower education who are in group 1B. “They were already irritated to have to wait in line for the whole 1B, and now we have expanded 1B so that they may have to wait until May or June to be vaccinated,” she says. “It is very disturbing to everyone that we are told that education is valued and that we need to open schools and universities, but we have now lost the vaccination tool to do so safely.”
“We have said from the beginning that educators should be given preference to the vaccine. This is an important step toward a safer return to personal learning,” Steven Baker, director of the New Jersey Education Association, told Yahoo Life. We constantly communicated with government officials about educators’ access to vaccination. We reiterated to them that they must do what is necessary to speed up access, even in the face of revised federal guidelines by the Trump administration and a slow federal implementation of the real vaccine. ”
Baker is hopeful that there will be ‘much better presidential leadership’ under the coming Biden government.
“Our schools are too important to wait one day longer than necessary,” he says.
Note: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not mention smokers in outlining the priorities for the COVID-19 vaccine. Under the leadership of the CDC, smokers are likely to be vaccinated with other members of the public after Phase 1C.
New Jersey’s move to prioritize smokers is even controversial among the medical community. “This is an unfortunate decision,” said Dr. Richard Watkins, a doctor of infectious diseases and a professor of internal medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University, told Yahoo Life. “People choose to smoke, and it has a very negative impact on their health.”
Watkins says it is “doubtful” that vaccinating smokers early will have a significant impact on the pandemic, but neither does it apply to other groups. “Vaccination of teachers protects them and children,” he says. “For transportation workers, it’s similar in that it protects them so that the system can continue to manage and protect the drivers.” Watkins says people who work in stores should also take precedence over smokers.
But the prioritization of smokers is rooted in science, says dr. Michael Steinberg, medical director of the Rutgers Center for Tobacco Studies, to Yahoo Life. “The strongest evidence we have is that current smokers are at greater risk of developing serious diseases if they are infected with the virus,” he says. “The evidence that smokers are at risk of actually contracting the virus is less clear.” Smokers may be at risk of contracting the virus because they cannot wear a mask while smoking, and some may smoke in groups, he points out.
Prioritizing smokers is also in line with the general objectives of vaccinating the public. “The aim of the vaccine is to reduce the damage caused by this virus by preventing serious diseases and keeping people out of the hospital,” said Dr. Amesh A. Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Safety, tells. Yahoo Life. “Smokers are at higher risk for complicated COVID, whether people like it or not.”
If the aim of the vaccine is to prevent serious diseases, it is ‘optimally targeted at those at higher risk for hospitalization and death,’ says Adalja. He also adds: “The early deployment of the vaccine in the US is not really meant to limit the spread, but to prevent serious diseases by targeting those at greatest risk for hospitalization and death.”
It is ‘difficult’ to try to compare the risk between higher-risk groups, such as smokers versus educators and transit workers, Steinberg says. “We just do not have enough evidence to distinguish which factors pose the greatest risk,” he says. “Hopefully, in the short term, we will have enough vaccine to vaccinate all high-risk people as quickly as possible as the distribution of the vaccine improves.”
In general, Steinberg recommends that smokers do their best to quit, whether or not they are prioritized over the vaccine. “As always, we would suggest that the best advice for smokers, both regarding the pandemic, is to quit smoking as soon as possible and take full advantage of the tobacco treatment resources in your community.”
For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over the age of 60 and those with an immune system are at greatest risk. If you have any questions, please refer to the CDCs and WIE’s resource guides.
Read more about Yahoo Life
Want to bring lifestyle and wellness news to your inbox? Sign in here for Yahoo Life’s newsletter.