There was an interesting local podcast about this today in a local news podcast with a UW epidemiologist. At the end, she said:
"There's two ways to vaccinate. You can vaccinate to end the epidemic. You can vaccinate to end morbidity and mortality. We are going to vaccinate to end morbidity and mortality, that's why it's open to people 65 and older." - Dr. Judith Malmgren, UW Department of Epidemiology. The full episode is here: https://www.kuow.org/stories/seattle-now-how-big-a-deal-is-the-new-covid-strain
Through a preliminary search, it seems like Idaho, Oregon, and Montana are prioritizing teachers as part of frontline workers and getting them vaccinated sooner. Washington, Alaska, and all of our Canadian jurisdictions are prioritizing elderly and at-risk populations.
Hard to know what will work best long-term, but it's interesting to look at how different areas have made different choices.
Betz Mayer
