The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has released preliminary advice to guide the prioritisation of target populations in a COVID-19 vaccination program in Australia.
The ATGAI advises the Minister for Health on the National Immunisation Program (NIP) and other immunisation issues.
The Group said its advice was aimed at supporting planning for the development of a strategy for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines and program delivery.
“Prioritisation should be based on evidence and will be influenced by the prevailing epidemiology when specific vaccines become available,” the Group said.
“The most important group for prioritisation are key workers, particularly health and aged care workers,” it said.
“This is because they are doing work of critical importance and societal benefit.”
The ATAGI said frontline health workers were also at increased risk of infection and it was to everyone’s benefit that they continued to work.
“As evidence becomes available about a vaccine’s impact on at-risk populations, priorities can be set about which sub-groups to focus on,” it said.
The Advisory Group said possible priority groups included those who had an increased risk of developing severe disease or dying from COVID-19; who were at increased risk of exposure and hence of being infected with and transmitting COVID-19 to others; and people who worked in services critical to societal functioning.
“The vast majority of the Australian population remains susceptible to the virus (i.e. non-immune) due to low rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Australia to date,” it said.
“Therefore, any strategy focused on reducing the risk of community transmission (should this be achievable with available vaccines) will likely require target levels of uptake to be achieved across a broad age range of the population,” the ATAGI said.
The Advisory Group’s eight-page preliminary advice can be accessed at this PS News link.
