Reuters Explainer-U.S. vaccine rollout's next challenge: Verifying who is 'essential'

Explainer-U.S. vaccine rollout's next challenge: Verifying who is 'essential' As U.S. industries push for their workers to receive early access to COVID-19 vaccines, local health departments and pharmacies face the challenge of verifying the identity of essential workers to ensure no one cuts the line. Tina Bellon, Melissa Fares U.S.

(Reuters) - As U.S. industries push for their workers to receive early access to COVID-19 vaccines, local health departments and pharmacies face the challenge of verifying the identity of essential workers to ensure no one cuts the line.

The vaccination campaign under way is now focused on hospital staff and nursing homes, tightly controlled environments where verification is relatively simple. But beginning in January or February, Americans employed in a range of industries will be eligible for innoculation, provided they are essential frontline workers.

The absence of a plan to verify vaccine candidates’ jobs and confusion over who qualifies as essential raise the risks of fraud and disorganization.

The criteria to qualify as an essential, frontline worker varies from state to state. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that roughly 30 million essential workers will be next in line for a shot. An additional 57 million essential workers will be vaccinated later.

The lack of clear guidelines will significantly complicate the verification process as those workers seek shots.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security in March published a list of essential U.S. workers during the pandemic. bit.ly/3aBDtFx

The list covers nearly 70% of the U.S. labor force and has provided little clarity to health officials trying to distribute initially limited doses of vaccines.

Many states over the summer began developing their own priority lists, at times deferring to the importance of local industries. States generally have broad discretion when it comes to vaccine distribution.

This has resulted in a patchwork of guidelines across the country, with companies complaining that their workers are considered essential in one state, but not in another.

A panel of experts that advises the CDC on Sunday recommended that people people 75 and older and workers including first responders, teachers, food and agriculture, manufacturing, U.S. Postal Service, public transit and grocery store workers should have the next priority for the vaccines.

Some U.S. states have signalled they will nevertheless continue with the distribution plans they originally drafted.  ...