Priority List For COVID-19 Vaccine: Here Is What We Know

With more than a dozen potential coronavirus vaccines being tested around the world, an increasing number of people are now asking this question -- who will get the COVID-19 vaccine first, considering it is approved for the world to use?

The most obvious answer is -- the country that develops the most effective vaccine will be the one to approve its use for its nationals.

American physician and immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is looking after the COVID-19 response in the U.S. is being cautiously optimistic that a coronavirus vaccine will be available by the end of 2020 or in early 2021.

however, does that mean that once an effective vaccine is found, all of the people will get access to it immediately? The answer is not.

Even though an effective COVID-19 vaccine is found that is safe for use in humans, it will still take some time for mass production of the vaccine to begin. The agreements will have to be signed, prototypes to be sent to manufacturing units and a lot of paperwork to be completed. This is the reason why people may have to wait until they can have access to the vaccine.

The waiting time could be considerably more for people located outside of the country that finds the effective vaccine first. Several rich countries such as the U.S. and the U.KK. Have already ordered millions of doses of the potential vaccines that are currently in clinical trials -- and are not even approved as yet.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is, at the moment, drafting guidelines for the equal and fair distribution of COVID-19 vaccines among all nations. However, how vaccines are distributed within a country may vary from one nation to the other.

Countries are likely to prioritize the groups that are at a greater risk of COVID-19 infection. These may include the elderly, people with underlying medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiac issues. Additionally, the frontline workers are also expected to receive the COVID-19 vaccine dose first as compared to other individuals who are at less risk of catching coronavirus infection.