The move to prioritize smokers over essential workers such as teachers has been criticized, although the phase-out is in line with the federal guidelines of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which puts smoking on a list of conditions that increase the risk for serious diseases cause virus that causes COVID-19. “
“While ACIP makes recommendations, we understand that there will be a level of local adaptation. The phased vaccine recommendations are intended to be fluid and not restrictive to jurisdictions. It is not necessary to vaccinate all individuals in one phase. before the next phase begins, phases may overlap, “CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund told CNN in a statement.
‘This means that you need to find a sweet spot that allows for the maximum vaccination of weapons, while also paying attention to the priority groups – especially since these are people who are at higher risk for complications of COVID-19 or more. to the virus because of their work, ”said Nordlund.
Teachers are still waiting in line for the vaccine
Educators in New Jersey are disappointed and frustrated because they have been pushed back into the queue, County County Education Association president Sue McBride told CNN.
“From what I hear, it’s just another round of frustration and another round of trouble, you know, our educators and our professional teachers have contact with the students and with their colleagues in their school buildings,” McBride said.
‘The idea of having a vaccine that can hopefully give peace of mind. And a little hope and some movement in a positive direction is appreciated. You know, and an expected thing to happen. ‘ The New Jersey Educators Association continues to uphold the need for access to vaccines for educators to get schools closer to a normal feel.
“From the beginning, we said that educators should have priority access to the vaccine. This is an important step towards a safer return to personal learning. We have been in constant contact with government officials regarding access to educators through educators. “We have reiterated to them the need to do what is necessary to expedite that access, even in the face of revised federal guidelines from the Trump administration and a slow federal implementation of the real vaccine,” said Steve Baker, communications director of NJEA, told CNN.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves this week announced an expansion of the implementation for those with underlying medical conditions, including smokers, but said essential workers such as teachers are next.
“And just be very clear to our emergencies, to our police officers, to our firefighters and to our teachers, you’re on deck. Next time we get an update, I expect it will be to announce the vaccine. “will be available to you,” Tate told a news conference Tuesday.
CNN did not immediately return for comment from the Mississippi Department of Health.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy defended the decision, saying it would not be a matter of discussion if the federal government gave more vaccine doses to states.
“I understand that, I understand the optics here and that attacking people who use the habit of smoking and are now addicted can be politically useful,” Murphy said at a news conference on Friday. “But at the moment we are in a position to prioritize limited doses, which are federally distributed, on the basis of medical facts and not on political shortcomings. We must save lives. And we must protect our hospitals in the meantime. , of a patient thrust. ‘
Murphy added that ‘teachers in the circle are on the deck’ and that teachers under the age of 65 with chronic health conditions are currently eligible for the vaccine.
Teachers are also being included in the next sub-phase, Donna Leusner, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Health, told CNN, but health officials consider smoking a health risk for state residents.
“Yes, the issue has been raised. Nicotine is one of the most powerful addictions. Smoking puts individuals at higher risk for more serious diseases. As an individual who smokes COVID, they get sick faster. Our goal is to “Smoking is possible and to promote vaccination among the highest risk groups. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the US as well as in NJ (except for Covid 19). We encourage everyone who smokes to quit,” he said. Leusner said in a statement. to CNN.
Smoking and Covid-19 from a public point of view
An estimated 2 million smokers in New Jersey are the largest population eligible for the vaccine under the list of underlying medical conditions, New Jersey Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli told a news conference on Wednesday.
Prioritizing smokers is a matter of public health, not a judgment on personal choices, said dr. Albert Rizzo, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association, said.
“It’s a population that we think is at risk, whether it was a good choice or a bad choice to become a smoker. They are smokers, they are at risk of getting sick and needing medical services. , so if we can keep them healthy that helps society in general, ‘Rizzo told CNN.
Rizzo, a pulmonologist at the Christiana Care Health System in Delaware, says it is difficult to exclude all smokers in favor of smokers who have additional diagnosed respiratory illnesses.
“We can make arguments on both sides, but we do know that smoking on its own, whether you have chronic bronchitis but have no COPD, or that you actually only cough but have no shortness of breath, still puts you at risk,” said Rizzo. “And I think most people from a scientific point of view say that if you inhale, tobacco fumes and nicotine and tar, all these things ignite your airway and put you at risk whether you have reached the point of developing COPD or not.”