ARLINGTON, Va. — The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has called on policymakers across various levels of government, asking that members of the trucking industry be among the groups of essential workers receiving prioritized access to COVID-19 vaccines.
On Dec. 1, ATA sent letters to the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, President-elect Joe Biden and the National Governors Association, stressing the essential role of the trucking industry.
“Our workforce represents a central and critical link in the nation’s supply chain and will play an essential role in the imminent COVID-19 vaccine distribution process,” wrote Bill Sullivan, ATA’s executive vice president for advocacy. “As the trucking industry is called upon to deliver vaccines across the country, it is imperative that truck drivers have prioritized access to the vaccine to minimize the potential for supply chain delays and disruptions.”
Since the onset of the pandemic, the trucking industry has been crucial throughout all phases of the national response effort, providing direct and indispensable support to workers of every category across the front line, from health care professionals and first responders to grocers and pharmacists. This role now expands further as the nation begins mobilizing for the largest vaccine distribution campaign in history.
The letters cite the industry’s designation as essential by the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, noting that more than 80% of U.S. communities rely exclusively on trucks to receive necessary goods.
“Our nation’s ability to successfully confront the COVID-19 pandemic depends on the resilience and integrity of our transportation networks,” Sullivan wrote. “The trucking industry is proud to play an outsized role in COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, and we ask that you consider the essential nature of the trucking workforce as you implement plans for vaccine distribution.
“As we saw at the outset of the pandemic, when supply lines are disrupted, consequences are fast to follow,” he concluded.
Click here to read the letters sent by ATA.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
No thanks.
Not me. On average, it takes at least ten years for a new medicine to complete the journey from initial discovery to the marketplace, with clinical trials alone taking six to seven years on average. COVID-19 is caused by a new coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. So, it’s necessarily had LESS THAN 12 months investigation, trials and testing.
How about the ATA leaders get it first to see what effects it has.
Exactly!
Does the injection have to be shown on Line 4: “On Duty/Not Driving”.
I’m against the vaccine til it’s proven safe. I’ve seen what bad vaccines did in the army when 110,000 were forced to get the Anthrax vaccine and 98,000 of them died from Gulf War Syndrome
I believe the whole article was just to allow drivers to have access to it first if they so desire, but if you do not want it then at least you had access to it first.
The ATA needs too stop acting like it represents Truckers. Every trucker knows they don’t This vaccine if made mandatory will mean im no longer a truck driver.
Exactly!
EFF the ata…if they want it then I don’t !!!!! They do NOT represent truckers…unless it’s one of those megas…