FDA chief urges states to allow vaccination of lower-priority groups 

The leader of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday urged states to allow lower-priority groups to get vaccinated against COVID-19 if their doses would otherwise go to waste.

FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn told reporters he thinks the federal guidelines for vaccination, which recommend starting with health workers and nursing home staff and employees, make sense.

However, Hahn said he thinks “it’s reasonable” to expand the groups, and not get too fixated on finishing one before moving on to others, such as essential workers, first responders or people over the age of 65.

The ultimate goal is to vaccinate as many people as possible, Hahn said, and in cases where people may be hesitant to get a shot, it doesn’t make sense to keep those doses on a shelf or let them go to waste.

“I would strongly encourage that we move forward with giving states the opportunity to be more expansive in who they can give the vaccine to,” Hahn said during an Alliance for Health Policy event.