Frontline workers in Oregon will become eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination on April 19, giving grocery workers, bus drivers, waiters, waitresses and others access to vaccines about two weeks before the population in general have your opportunity.
State officials announced earlier this week that they will open vaccine eligibility for everyone on May 1, following a White House directive. The announcement frustrated frontline workers, who felt they had not been prioritized by the state and feared that they would have to compete for doses with the general population.
But state officials announced on Friday that they are speeding up the schedule for frontline officials to receive vaccines to ensure that workers who must interact with others on a daily basis are prioritized ahead of the general population.
“In terms of frontline workers, I want to say thank you,” said Governor Kate Brown. “You have literally been on the front lines since the pandemic began. … Oregon sees you and listens to you and we are extremely grateful for your work. “
Grocery workers and others on the front lines have been lobbying the state for weeks to increase the vaccination schedule for essential workers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that essential workers be included among the first groups to receive the vaccine. In Washington, grocery workers, public transport workers and other frontline workers who have regular contact with others became eligible for vaccines on Wednesday.
Oregon had originally planned to make most frontline workers eligible for vaccines on May 1, while vaccines were opened to the general population on July 1.
This drew criticism from the unions themselves and from the frontline workers themselves, who said they were not being prioritized by the state. The frustration grew earlier this week when the state announced that all Oregon residents would become eligible for vaccines on May 1, the same date that frontline workers were expected to become eligible.
Miles Eshaia, a spokesman for UFCW Local 555, who represents grocery workers in Fred Meyer, Safeway and Albertsons, said the union would still like to see the state make grocery workers eligible for vaccines immediately, but called the new schedule Brown’s accelerated Friday announced a step in the right direction.
“It is a big step forward,” said Eshaia. “Before, we were grouped with everyone and there would be no priority. The whole idea was, ‘Hey, thanks for all your services to our community. Now, you have to fight for a vaccine with everyone. ‘At least this way, we have a little time to get our essential workers and grocery workers that priority vaccine they deserve for interacting with this community so closely all the time. “
Most frontline workers, including supermarket employees, restaurant and bar employees, retail store employees, bus drivers, construction workers, government officials and news media will now become eligible to receive vaccines in 19 Of april.
Vaccines will be available to farm workers even earlier.
Migrant and seasonal agricultural workers who have already started working this harvest season will be eligible on March 22. Other rural workers, food processing workers and other agricultural workers will be eligible on 29 March.
Some of the biggest outbreaks of COVID-19 in the state’s workplace occurred at food processing facilities and farms.
Frontline officials in some Oregon counties may have access to vaccines before April 19.
State officials said on Friday that counties that mostly finished vaccinating elderly residents could start vaccinating the next eligible groups from March 22. People aged 45 to 64 with underlying health problems will become eligible for vaccination on March 29.
Bill Bradley, an executive director at Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757, which represents Oregon’s transit workers, said it is important that frontline workers be prioritized above the general population. He said he was hopeful that many frontline workers outside the Portland metropolitan area would have access to vaccines before April 19.
“It’s a little bit of positive news as we move into the weekend,” said Bradley.
– Jamie Goldberg | [email protected] | @jamiebgoldberg