Transportation Groups Request COVID-19 Vaccination Priority

In an urgent letter for assistance, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA)—the unified and collective voice of America’s seaports—and seven other cargo transportation sector groups today asked the leaders of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, and the Subcommittee on Transport & Safety, to prioritize America’s supply chain industry workforces for access to the COVID-19 vaccine to minimize the potential for disruptions and delays in the vaccine’s distribution.

The letter states: “Prioritizing vaccinations for freight, rail, port and energy workers will be a key intervention to help keep our critical supply chains operating, and to reinforce the resilience of our transportation networks.”

AAPA President and CEO Christopher J. Connor noted that America’s supply chain industries, including its ports and their direct workforce of more than 650,000 front-line personnel, have kept essential goods moving to medical professionals, first responders and vital manufacturing, distribution and retail businesses during the pandemic. “Their dedication and perseverance has enabled commerce to continue flowing during a time of great risk to their personal health and well-being, ensuring the goods we want and need are available when and where we need them.”

The letter requests that, to ensure the continuity of the nation’s domestic supply chain, the Senate’s transportation committee leadership focus their efforts on prioritizing access to the vaccine to those most in need - first to healthcare personnel, persons with high-risk medical conditions and older, more vulnerable populations, and then to essential workers who maintain the services and functions that Americans depend on daily.