CDC Says Lawyers and Judges A Priority for Coronavirus Vaccine

New guidance from the Centers for Disease Control on who should be first to receive the coronavirus vaccine puts lawyers and other legal professionals near the top of the list.

On Sunday, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices issued recommendations for who should be next to receive the vaccine after long-term care patients and frontline health care workers.

The recommendations outline three tiers of phase one vaccine prioritization. After the first tier of long-term care residents and health care workers comes group 1b, which includes persons 75 years and older and frontline essential workers.

Then comes group 1c, which includes persons 65 and older, persons with high-risk medical conditions, and “other essential workers.”

That category of “other essential workers” is defined by reference to a list prepared in August by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers.

On that list are legal workers, defined as, “Workers supporting the operations of the judicial system, including judges, lawyers, and others providing legal assistance.”

“Populations included in Phase 1c are either at an increased risk for severe COVID-19 compared with the general population or support ongoing critical infrastructure operations,” the recommendations say.

The CDC did not say when the transition to phase 1c will begin, as it depends on vaccine supplies and production.