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Unions have called for key frontline workers to be granted priority access to an approved Covid vaccine after they were omitted from the list of those who should get it first.
The unions, which represent more than 1.8 million employees, say that by prioritizing only the elderly and health and welfare workers, the distribution plan fails to protect other key workers at increased risk of exposure.
Gail Cartmail, Unite’s Deputy Secretary General, said: “It is absolutely correct for social care personnel and health workers to receive the vaccine at an early stage so that they are protected and not at risk of inadvertently transmitting the virus.
“However, there are many other key workers who have suffered greatly during the pandemic and should also be given the proper priority to receive the vaccine.
“What is absolutely imperative is that there is a clear and transparent list of priority groups and we do not see a free for all or a tail jump for the rich.”
Analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggested that workers in England and Wales most at risk of death from Covid during the first wave of the pandemic included security guards, taxi and bus drivers, vehicle technicians and mechanics, and retail workers. The ONS said: “Many of the occupations in these groups will have continued to work during the pandemic and will not be able to work from home, possibly increasing their chances of contracting the virus.”
The increased exposure to key workers has also been linked to the disproportionate risk that ethnic minorities have faced from the coronavirus. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said that a third of all British black Africans of working age are employed in key job roles, 50% more than the proportion of the white British population.
Zubaida Haque, a member of the Independent Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) said: “One of the key reasons why the BAME (black and ethnic minority) communities have been more vulnerable to infection and the severity of this disease is because we have a high proportion of BAME people among key workers. Key workers such as delivery men, taxi drivers, public transport workers, professional cleaners, as well as doctors and nurses ”.
Supporting the need to prioritize key workers, Manuel Cortes, TSSA secretary general, referenced last week’s Covid outbreak at Manchester Piccadilly train station, in which 11 employees tested positive and dozens more were sent home. .
“After vulnerable workers, health and social work, other essential workers must be vaccinated before the general population,” he said. “As we saw with the outbreak in Manchester Piccadilly last week, transport workers are on the front lines of the pandemic. They are key to keeping the country moving and should be given priority when it comes to vaccination. “
Paddy Lillis, Usdaw general secretary representing store and distribution workers, agreed with the need to vaccinate the vulnerable first, but added: “We would also ask the government to make sure that retail workers and drivers of delivery take precedence as the vaccine is spread to the general population. They come into contact with hundreds of customers every day and that must be taken into account when assessing their level of risk.
Professor Wei Shen Lim, Covid-19 Chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, said: “JCVI’s interim advice is that older people and health and social care workers have priority for vaccination against Covid- 19.
“This recommendation was made with the goal of preventing as many deaths as possible.”
