You know how the Joe Biden administration is trying to get the COVID-19 vaccination out to all the essential workers? Well, apparently, the American Trucking Association would prefer to receive the vaccinations sooner than later. This may be due to the fact that so many truck drivers risk their lives just to deliver essential product to other folks. But the CDC won’t have any of it. Which may be why the ATA and forty-nine other trucking associations throughout the state are asking the CDC to shift truckers into phase 1b for COVID-19 vaccine. This may be pertinent, in fact, to phase 1c.
The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, also known as the ACIP placed “frontline essential workers” in 1b and “other essential workers” in 1c. That said, truckers have been heavily snubbed by this lack of consideration.
And this really hurts the community too because the less they are acknowledged, the higher the risk of contagious variants spreading throughout the U.S. High-risk populations depend on the workforce in order to deliver vaccine supplies to each trucker.
ATA is very concerned!
The ATA believes that because the death rates have increased, truck drivers are among the greatest risk individuals.
But then you have to take into account how transportation infrastructure workers. They are already being prioritized enough, considering how they continue to ship the product throughout the U.S.
Truckers are the glue that holds together the entire front line response. Without them, daily and indispensable support could not be properly given to all of the other essential workers. Beyond that, high-risk populations depend on the trucking workforce.
ATA mentioned the increase of more contagious types of virus spreading rapidly across the United States.
Senator Maria Cantwell decidedly said she planned to push the Biden administration to give high vaccine priority to food haulers. Fingers crossed, ATA.