DISCUSSION: The Strategy of the Draft Guidance

COMMENT: Postal workers and shipping prioritization

Submitted by Terry Adirim   on 12/4/07 1:26 PM

The rationale for the prioritization scheme in general is that those with a pandemic response with the highest exposure are prioritzed first (e.g. emergency room personnel). Although postal workers and shipping personnel might have a pandemic response, they are not at the higher risk. Also, those persons who perform functions where training others is not possible (e.g. nuclear plant workers) were prioritized higher than those who performed relatively "unskilled" tasks like driving a truck. Therefore this is why postal workers and shippers were placed in the tier that they were placed. Also, don't forget that there are other pharmacological and non-pharmacological ways to protect themselves (anti-virals, masks, etc).