Food And Beverage Groups Ask White House For Priority On COVID-19 Vaccines

As cases of the coronavirus surge in the U.S., companies are racing to secure more permanent protection for their workers. Less than a week after the vaccine news from Pfizer, the food and beverage industry is not wasting any time asking to be on the priority list for whenever one is made available. 

This isn't the first time the industry has reached out to the administration. For months, the industry has worked on lobbying government officials to get a vaccine early. In June, the same fifteen groups sent a similar letter asking that food and agriculture workers be given the next highest priority for getting the vaccine behind healthcare workers, first responders and high-risk individuals.

Similar requests have been sent by these groups individually as well. In September, the Consumer Brands Association sent a letter to the CDC asking for the CPG industry's roughly 1.2 million workers to be prioritized for vaccine allocation. 

"Worker absenteeism remains a concern in manufacturing facilities, posing a threat to the maintenance of consistent inventories of life-sustaining products," Betsey Booren, senior vice president of regulatory and technical affairs at CBA, wrote in the letter. "Without early vaccinations, the CPG sector risks the absence of skilled workers due to illness and the subsequent negative impacts on the supply chain."

The Food and Environment Reporting Network reported the industry's lobbying has worked and many states' draft plans have prioritized food processing and agriculture workers for a vaccine once it is developed. That is a positive step for the industry, but these trade groups also are trying to ensure the industry will get national priority and that there is a national distribution program in place.