It is a relief that a vaccine is becoming available, and perhaps there will be some dispute about who gets it first. Obviously health care workers and other people directly at risk, such as EMT personnel, should be first in line. But I fear that other less prominent people may be overlooked.
For example, the people who do the very essential work of staffing our grocery stores should likewise be at the top of the list. Day after day, all day, they have contact with virtually the entire public, many of whom are inconsiderate in their behavior, such as not wearing masks, or otherwise ridiculing the seriousness of the current crisis. Incredibly, some of these are elected officials.
It has become obvious during this health crisis that much of our essential work is being performed by non-professionals who make relatively small wages and have little political influence, while many of our well-paid and influential citizens really aren’t doing essential jobs. The best way to correct this imbalance in the short term is to protect the people who need it most, and in the longer term, find a way to properly compensate the really essential people in the workforce.
— Clarence Crawford
Anchorage
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