NACS released a bonus episode of its popular Convenience Matters podcast series to help the industry plan for the COVID-19 vaccination rollout for essential employees. Anna Ready Blom, director of government relations at NACS, shared the latest information on how the vaccine is being distributed and the prioritization process.
State are tasked with determining their individual frameworks for vaccine distribution plans for the CDC’s recommended phase 1-A (health-care professionals, residents of long-term care facilities), 1-B (frontline essential workers, seniors age 75+) and 1-C (all other essential workers, seniors age 65+, those with a high-risk medical condition) priority groups. Retailers operating multiple stores throughout a state could see varying degrees of vaccine guidelines in different cities. “We’re advising our NACS retail members to be in touch with their state association partners and to be proactive reaching out to local officials, health departments and governors,” Ready Blom said.
Doug Kantor, partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, chimed in: “When this vaccine gets out in broader numbers, it will go to hospitals, pharmacies and health-care providers and others to administer—none of them has a ready list of who are the essential frontline workers in my community.”
So, it’s important for retailers to be proactive, he advised: “Whether you’re a multi-state operator or a single-store operator, reach out proactively to those health-care providers, hospitals and pharmacies” and let them know that your employees are designated frontline essential employees, which could speed up the vaccination process if these locations find themselves with vaccine on hand that is at risk of spoiling due to temperature control.
NACS is working with its state association partners to seek guidance from governors and state officials to develop templates that show documentation of who the essential workers are within the c-store industry. “We’re suggesting a template letter from individual convenience store companies that are personalized to their employees and shows they are, in fact, verified as an essential worker,” Kantor explained.
To listen to the rest of the conversation and guidance on how to prepare for vaccination distribution in your state, download “Special Episode: Vaccinating Essential Workers."