The American Diabetes Association (ADA) sent a letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urging them to take immediate steps to update their guidance on the risk people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) face with COVID-19 and acknowledge that people with both T1D and type 2 diabetes (T2D) should be prioritized equally in the rollout of the vaccine.

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This change is particularly important because more recent clinical evidence demonstrates that COVID-19 severity is more than tripled in individuals with T1D  and time-sensitive, as states are now operationalizing vaccine rollouts and they need the most accurate and current information in order to do this correctly.

“As the data make clear, differentiating between T1D and T2D for purposes of assessing COVID-19 risk is an error that could cost even more lives, and we urge CDC to correct this immediately,” said Dr. Robert Gabbay, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer for the ADA.

Currently, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices – whose recommendations influence the order in which states are making vaccines are available – classify T1D as a lower risk than T2D for COVID-19.  With many states now utilizing the same outdated CDC risk classification to design their vaccine distribution plans some 1.6 million with T1D are at risk for receiving a COVID vaccination later than others in the same risk category.

The ADA was joined by 18 other organizations who signed on to the letter:

• American Diabetes Association
• JDRF
• Children with Diabetes
• Beyond Type 1
• American Association of Clinical Endocrinology
• American Podiatric Medical Association
• Diabetes Leadership Council
• Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition
• Certification Board for Diabetes Care and Education
• DiabetesSisters
• The diaTribe Foundation
• Endocrine Society
• Pediatric Endocrine Society
• T1D Exchange
• College Diabetes Network
• YMCA of the USA
• National Association of Chronic Disease Directors
• Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation, Inc.
• Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists

The ADA established a COVID-19 Task Force to maintain active engagement both with health officials and government leaders, and to keep the diabetes community apprised of critical information about COVID-19 and available treatments and vaccines. Current COVID-19 vaccine distribution information is available on a state-by-state basis on the ADA’s COVID-19 hub.