Hospitality and food workers, who form the backbone of southern Nevada’s tourism-oriented economy, qualified on Thursday for the COVID-19 vaccination in Clark County.
High-risk residents 55 and older may also receive immunizations at pharmacies across the state as of next week, Governor Steve Sisolak’s spokeswoman Meghin Delaney wrote in a statement.
The announcement came just days after county health officials shared concerns about thousands of unfilled vaccine nominations and urged state officials to increase eligibility.
“We are following state guidelines and increased eligibility should help fill available consultations,” wrote Southern Nevada Health District spokeswoman Jennifer Sizemore in a statement.
With immediate effect, restaurant, food delivery and snack bar employees are eligible. The same goes for frontline hospitality employees, including casino employees, if there is prolonged customer interaction.
Essential workers must bring photo identification and proof of employment, such as employee badge or paycheck, for the vaccination appointment. They can schedule appointments through the state’s vaccine scheduler.
The move was praised by Nevada’s largest union, which represents tens of thousands of hospitality workers.
“Culinary Union applauds Governor Sisolak for his efforts to include and prioritize allocation for hospitality workers, including black and brown communities that have been disproportionately affected by the effects of COVID-19,” wrote Culinary Local 226 spokeswoman Bethany Khan in a statement.
Nevada game regulators issued guidelines on Thursday instructing Clark County operators to inform their employees of their eligibility and encourage them to get vaccinated. At least two major gaming companies reported starting immediately.
“Vaccinating people is how we are going to beat this pandemic, and we are going to encourage all eligible team members to make an appointment to get the vaccine as soon as possible,” said a spokesman for Boyd Gaming Corp. David Strow.
A spokeswoman for Caesars Entertainment Inc. said the company would “strongly encourage”, rather than compelling, its employees to receive a vaccine.
Golden Nugget employee Shauna McQueen said she signed up for a vaccination schedule immediately after learning she would be eligible.
The front desk employee has been unemployed for the past few months, but is expected to return as an on-call employee this weekend. She is scheduled to receive her first dose on Tuesday and plans to visit her father shortly thereafter.
“I was bouncing off the walls,” she said. “It feels like a weight is being lifted off my shoulder.”
Nevada Resort Association President Virginia Valentine said vaccinating workers in the tourism industry will accelerate the state’s economic recovery and get more residents back to work.
Casinos have been operating at reduced capacity since June, after a month-long shutdown during the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in Nevada. On March 15, casinos, restaurants and bars will be able to operate at half capacity, against a 35 percent limit set on February 15.
“Opening eligibility for hospitality workers will save lives, increase equity in vaccine distribution, given the diverse workforce in our industry, and send a clear message to visitors and meeting and convention organizers that Nevada is the travel destination and safest tourism in the world, ”said Valentine in a written statement.
The state is also working with the Nevada Pharmacy Council to open appointments for people 55 and older with health problems, disabilities or homelessness. The plan is expected to go into effect next week, Delaney’s statement said.
This expansion will deviate from the state’s original vaccination manual. The document predicts that the next eligible group will be Nevadans aged 16 to 64 with illness, disability or homelessness.
Before receiving his vaccination at a Las Vegas supermarket on Thursday, Sisolak said the next group eligible for the vaccine would be people aged 18 or older with underlying diseases, according to the manual.
“We are trying to reach people who are most susceptible and vulnerable to the disease, and that is what we are doing,” he said.
The health district is offering six vaccination sites for hospitality workers:
■ Las Vegas Convention Center, 3150 Paradise Road.
■ Cashman Center, 850 Las Vegas Blvd. North.
■ Canyon Springs High School, 350 E. Alexander Road, North Las Vegas.
■ Heritage Park Senior Facility, 300 S. Racetrack Road, Henderson.
■ UNLV Student Union, 4505 Maryland Parkway.
■ Nevada Partners, 690 W. Lake Mead Blvd., North Las Vegas.
In a prime-time speech on Thursday night, President Joe Biden said he is instructing states to make all adult Americans eligible to receive COVID-19 injections by May 1 at the latest and expressed hope that families can safely gather for the Fourth of July. He also announced that a national website to help obtain doses will be launched on May 1.
Contact Mike Shoro at mshor @ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. follow @mike_shoro on twitter. Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz @ reviewjournal.com. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writers, Michael Scott Davidson and Damon Seiters, contributed to this report.