Estimates of the Initial Priority Population for COVID-19 Vaccination by State

The estimates of health care workers and the total population are based on a KFF analysis of the 2019 American Community Survey (ACS), 1-year file. The ACS includes a 1% sample of the US population. The health care industry is defined as industry codes 5070 and 7970 through 8290 and does not include the childcare or vocational training industries. Retail pharmacies are included as a healthcare industry. For more information see here. This analysis only includes those individuals who work in health care settings, so does not include professionals working in other care settings, such as school nurses, and does not include individuals who provide other services to clients, such as social services. We exclude individuals in these industries who are not currently in the labor force. For information on how the healthcare workforce has changed during the course of the pandemic see here.

We defined health care workers who likely have direct patient contact by reviewing the occupation codes of workers in healthcare industries. We included workers providing direct clinical care, such as doctors, nurses, and aides; workers providing direct patient support, such as environmental and food staff; and first line supervisors and managers of these occupations. We excluded administrative and managerial staff who are likely able to work remotely and/or not expected to have direct patient contact through their job duties. It is possible that estimate includes some workers who normally have direct patient contact but who can work remotely, for example, through the use of telehealth.

The estimates of nursing facility residents are based on KFF analysis of 2019 Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports (CASPER) data. The CASPER system includes data for all certified nursing facilities in the U.S. See here for more information on these data and methods. The nationwide estimate of residents in assisted living facilities is from the 2016 National Study of Long-Term Care Providers. Note that estimates of residents in nursing facility and assisted living facilities are from different sources, represent different time periods and may include a small number of overlapping residents.