More and more groups of people will continue to be eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations over the next few weeks. However, with this steady rollout and recent lifts in restrictions, it leaves some concerned over who exactly is on the priority list. Restaurant workers and the Chamber of Commerce say that they are more than happy to welcome in and serve guests. However, with a lift in restrictions comes along concerns as well. “The concern really is that as we start to get more of our population vaccinated, that’s the good news but then again we don’t always know who is coming into a restaurant and who is vaccinated or not so making sure our restaurant workers are vaccinated is a priority,” said Betsy Bishop, president of Vermont Chamber of Commerce. Bishop stating, that just one positive COVID-19 case could make a restaurant close for a couple of weeks, something most local restaurants just can’t afford to do right now. “Having to shut down a restaurant is a really huge cost,” Bishop said. “Both financially and on everyone’s mental health and stress levels so that is something we all want to avoid at all costs.” These reasons are some of why the chamber of commerce has advocated putting restaurant workers on the vaccination priority list. The Vermont State Department of Health, says it’s not an option right now. With the number of vaccinations allocated to the state, distribution needed to be given to different groups like teachers and health care workers. The state also opted to look towards where they were seeing fatal outcomes the most, being, amongst Vermont’s elderly community. The Vermont Department of Health also said it would have been hard to distribute vaccinations on an occupation-basis.“To open up to sort of a workforce-based system because then you have to figure out who’s included, who’s not, how do you identify those people,” said Kelly Dougherty, Deputy Commissioner from VT Department of Health. Many people who work in the restaurant industry fall under 50 years of age and the chamber of commerce encourages restaurant workers to register for their vaccinations over the next few weeks when they become eligible to do so. Vermont’s Department of Health says they are steadily opening up more vaccination sites as the days go on to ensure successful distribution for the next few weeks.
More and more groups of people will continue to be eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations over the next few weeks. However, with this steady rollout and recent lifts in restrictions, it leaves some concerned over who exactly is on the priority list.
Restaurant workers and the Chamber of Commerce say that they are more than happy to welcome in and serve guests. However, with a lift in restrictions comes along concerns as well.
“The concern really is that as we start to get more of our population vaccinated, that’s the good news but then again we don’t always know who is coming into a restaurant and who is vaccinated or not so making sure our restaurant workers are vaccinated is a priority,” said Betsy Bishop, president of Vermont Chamber of Commerce.
Bishop stating, that just one positive COVID-19 case could make a restaurant close for a couple of weeks, something most local restaurants just can’t afford to do right now.
“Having to shut down a restaurant is a really huge cost,” Bishop said. “Both financially and on everyone’s mental health and stress levels so that is something we all want to avoid at all costs.”
These reasons are some of why the chamber of commerce has advocated putting restaurant workers on the vaccination priority list. The Vermont State Department of Health, says it’s not an option right now. With the number of vaccinations allocated to the state, distribution needed to be given to different groups like teachers and health care workers. The state also opted to look towards where they were seeing fatal outcomes the most, being, amongst Vermont’s elderly community.
The Vermont Department of Health also said it would have been hard to distribute vaccinations on an occupation-basis.
“To open up to sort of a workforce-based system because then you have to figure out who’s included, who’s not, how do you identify those people,” said Kelly Dougherty, Deputy Commissioner from VT Department of Health.
Many people who work in the restaurant industry fall under 50 years of age and the chamber of commerce encourages restaurant workers to register for their vaccinations over the next few weeks when they become eligible to do so.
Vermont’s Department of Health says they are steadily opening up more vaccination sites as the days go on to ensure successful distribution for the next few weeks.
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