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LOS ANGELES, Feb.12 (Reuters) – On Friday, around 800 workers at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports will participate in the first wave of COVID-19 vaccinations for employees at the busiest port complex in the United States, which has been hard hit by pandemic labor disruptions and surge in imports.
Last month, members of Congress joined with state and local leaders in urging California officials to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations for port workers amid high-stakes battles over workers who should be considered essential.
Such decisions are sometimes made at the local level, which has led to a patchwork of vaccine eligibility rules at a time when demand for COVID-19 vaccines far exceeds supply.
The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services organized the clinic, which reserved 800 doses of the Moderna Inc vaccine for port workers. The event comes as mass inoculation sites in other parts of Los Angeles County – including Dodger Stadium – are temporarily closed due to a lack of vaccine supplies.
Meanwhile, some states are starting to expand immunization beyond first responders, healthcare workers and the elderly to supermarket workers, line cooks, bus drivers and teachers.
In New York State, employees of grocery stores and restaurants are allowed to be vaccinated. And in Illinois, some auto factory workers have started getting vaccinated. (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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