Hospitality and food service workers, who form the backbone of Southern Nevada’s tourism-driven economy, were eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in Clark County on Thursday.
Residents at high risk 55 and older could also be vaccinated nationwide from next week, Gov. Steve Sisolak, spokeswoman Meghin Delaney, wrote in a statement.
The announcements came days after provincial health officials expressed concern about thousands of vaccine appointments that had become incomplete and urged government officials to increase eligibility.
“We are following the guidelines of the state and an extended fitness can help fill the available appointments,” Southern Nevada spokeswoman Jennifer Sizemore wrote in a statement.
Immediately effective, restaurant, food and cafeteria workers may be eligible. So do hospitality workers up front, including casino employees, if they have long-standing interaction with customers.
Essential workers must bring photo identification and proof of their work, such as an employee badge or pay stub, after their vaccination. They can plan appointments through the state plans for the appointment of vaccines.
The move was praised by Nevada’s largest union, which represents tens of thousands of hospitality workers.
“The Culinary Union welcomes Governor Sisolak for his efforts to include and prioritize allocation to hospitality workers, including black and colored communities affected by the effects of COVID-19,” said Bethany Khan, spokeswoman for Culinary Local 226, written in a statement.
Game regulators in Nevada on Thursday issued guidelines instructing Clark County operators to notify their employees of their eligibility and encourage them to be vaccinated. At least two major gambling companies started immediately.
“Getting people vaccinated is how we are going to defeat this pandemic, and we will encourage all qualifying team members to make an appointment as soon as possible to get the vaccine,” said David Strow, spokesman for Boyd Gaming Corp.
A spokesman for Caesars Entertainment Inc. said the company would encourage a vaccine, rather than mandate.
Shauna McQueen, an employee of Golden Nugget, said she immediately signed up for a vaccination period after learning that she would be eligible.
The staff at the reception desk has been out of work for the past few months, but he will soon be employed again as an employee. She plans to receive her first dose on Tuesday and plans to visit her father shortly afterwards.
“I bounced off the walls,” she said. “It feels like a weight is being lifted off my shoulder.”
Virginia Resort Association Virginia Virginia, said vaccinating workers in the tourism industry will accelerate the state’s economic recovery and get more residents back to work.
Casinos have been operating at a lower capacity since June, following a month-long shutdown during the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak in Nevada. On March 15, casinos, restaurants and bars are allowed to operate at half capacity, at a limit of 35 percent imposed on February 15.
“If the hospitality workers are eligible, they will save lives, increase equity in the distribution of vaccines, given the diverse workforce in our industry and send a clear message to visitors and organizers of meetings and conferences that Nevada is the safest place to travel and tourism destination in the world, “Valentine said in a written statement. .
The state is also working with the Nevada Pharmacy Board to open appointments for people 55 and older who have underlying health conditions, are disabled or homeless. The plan is expected to go into effect next week, according to Delaney.
The extension will deviate from the original vaccination playbook of the state. The document requires the next group of Nevadans to be between 16 and 64 years old with underlying conditions, disabilities or homeless.
Before Sisolak was vaccinated at a grocery store in Las Vegas on Thursday, Sisolak said according to the playbook that the next group eligible for vaccine is 18 and older with underlying conditions.
“We try to reach people who are most susceptible and vulnerable to the disease, and that’s what we do,” he said.
The health district offers six vaccination sites for hospitality workers:
■ Las Vegas Convention Center, 3150 Paradise Road.
■ Cashman Center, 850 Las Vegas Blvd. North.
■ Canyon Springs High School, 350 Alexander Street, North Las Vegas.
■ Heritage Park Senior Facility, 300 Racecourse, Henderson.
■ UNLV Student Association, Maryland Parkway, 4505.
■ Nevada Partners, 690 W. Lake Mead Blvd., North Las Vegas.
In a speech Thursday night, President Joe Biden said he was instructing countries to consider all adult Americans by May 1 to receive COVID-19 shots and he hopes families have the ability to come together safely Fourth of July . He also announced that a national website to obtain doses will be launched by 1 May.
Contact Mike Shoro at mshor @ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter. Contact Bailey Schulz at [email protected]. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter. The authors of the Review-Journal staff, Michael Scott Davidson and Damon Seiters, contributed to this report.