| (Feb. 22, 2021) -- The City of Long Beach's Dept of Health and Human Services (a city management operated department) quietly bent state vaccination priority rules to enable International Longshore Workers Union ILWU) dockworkers to reserve COVID-19 vaccines although they're not within groups prioritized for vaccination.
Putting dockworkers in the same category as health care workers, teachers and police and firefighters, effectively lets the ILWU workers take places that would otherwise go to those in prioritized groups, The story was first reported on Feb. 15 in Maritime Executive at this link. In response to a Feb 22 inquiry by LBREPORT.com as to who authorized the ILWU vaccinations, city management's Joint Information Center provided a copy of a Feb 18 letter from the CA Dept. of Health and Human Services. Addressed to "Dear Honorable Elected Officials," the letter (signed by Tomás J. Aragón, MD, Dr PH, Director and State Public Health Officer CA Dept, of Public Health) states in pertinent part: Beginning in February, the state is implementing a statewide standard under which health care workers, individuals 65+ and education and child care, emergency services and food and agriculture workers will be eligible to start making appointments to receive the vaccine, pending vaccine availability. These are the groups identified in Phase 1B, Tier 1. Port workers may be eligible for the vaccine under 1B, if they fall within the definitions under the Food and Agriculture sector. Specifically, if, as a worker at a port, an individual is essential to the: [Scroll down for further.] . |
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