Yes. NACI uses epidemiologic data. They look very carefully at the impact on population groups with respect to both the transmission of viruses, in this case SARS-CoV-2, and the impact on illness, particularly severe illness, hospitalization and death.
When they do their analysis of a population subgroup, they see that certain groups including racialized communities and seniors are disproportionately affected by COVID-19: more illness, more severe illness, more death. That feeds very strongly into the priorities they set. They are very concerned, as we are at the Public Health Agency, about equity in the rollout of vaccines across the country, so they put a special emphasis on using an equity framework to run their recommendations through to ensure they are not leaving communities or particular groups behind, especially those who are vulnerable. As we all know, when we are ensuring that vulnerable populations are protected from infectious diseases like COVID-19, we are protecting everyone; we are protecting communities.
Thank you.