Many trucking groups have spoken out about the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention allowing certain truck stops and travel plazas as a COVID-19 vaccination site.
A letter was presented to the CDC from a truck stop organization NATSO in February. Having the vaccine available at truck stops would decrease the challenges drivers face when seeking the vaccine.
What Was in the Letter
In the letter, it stated, “Truck drivers should be allowed to receive the vaccine in a state other than that within which they reside due to their length of time on the road and away from home. Truck drivers also must be allowed to receive their second vaccination at a different location, as it is improbable that they would have the ability to return to the primary vaccination site on a specific date or time.”
There have been other letters from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association that have issued letters stating, “Our members are concerned about how they will gain access to COVID-19 vaccinations while continuing to work. It will likely be logistically difficult and economically disruptive. … Providing vaccinations, preferably one-time dosages, at the already available truck stop clinics or rest areas throughout the country would be a viable solution to ensuring essential workers in the trucking industry are receiving the protection they need.”
Truck Drivers are the Third Group of COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) expanded the recommendations on who will be the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The first recommendation began December 1, 2020, which stated that healthcare personnel and residents of long-term health care facilities would be in the Phase 1a deployment. The next essential workers, including those in transportation, would be in Phase 1b deployment. Now, transportation workers are being moved to “other essential workers” and will not receive the vaccine until Phase 1c deployment.
What are your opinions on the deployment, and when should transportation workers be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine?