Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30329
RE: Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, December 11 and 13 Meeting
Docket No. CDC-2020-0122
Dear Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices:
On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), and the millions of workers we represent in all sectors of transportation, including the aviation, rail, transit, construction, school and over the road bus, maritime, and longshore industries, we strongly urge you to prioritize these frontline workers in the next phase (Phase 1b) of your COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Transportation workers have continued to provide essential services as COVID-19 has ravaged communities and taken nearly 300,000 American lives.
Throughout the pandemic, frontline transportation workers have delivered medical, public safety, and other essential personnel to and from their workplaces. They have ensured that our freight networks continue to deliver vital goods like food and household and medical supplies to the American public. And they have provided safe and efficient conditions for those Americans who need or choose to travel during the pandemic. Tragically, these employees have not been spared from the effects of COVID-19 as they continue to selflessly work in situations that require close contact with the public and other employees, facing a persistent risk of infection and death for both themselves and their loved ones.
These services will be vital as we work to emerge from the pandemic in the coming months. America will count on frontline transportation workers more than ever to deliver vaccines and medical supplies, and to continue transporting medical personnel. Further, a healthy and fully staffed transportation industry will be critical to our economic revitalization efforts. If transportation workers are unable to quickly access vaccinations as they help us undertake these goals, we do little more than endanger additional American lives and jeopardize our economic recovery.
The recommendations this committee makes will help shape the critical early steps in our national efforts to fight COVID-19. As they have throughout the pandemic, transportation workers are ready to do their part to help our country in this effort, but they can only do that effectively if they are given proper protections. Therefore, we once again urge you to prioritize transportation workers in all modes in your Phase 1b vaccine allocation recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We thank the committee for its consideration of our request, and for its work on this critical matter.
Sincerely,
Greg Regan
Secretary-Treasurer