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US – Las Vegas’ casino workforce prioritised near the front of COVID vaccination queue

By - 19 January 2021

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak has approved fast-tracking of casino employees through an express lane to get the COVID-19 vaccine, as the resort hopes to speed the path to not just normality but economic survival.

Front-line casino and resort workers have been placed in the fourth category of workers to get the vaccine in Nevada’s ‘frontline/essential workforce lane.’
Candice McDaniel, a bureau chief with the state Department of Health and Human Services, said hospitality and food service workers were ‘essential to our ability as a state to be healthy and to recover.’

Virginia Valentine, President of the Nevada Resort Association, said the decision to bring front-line hospitality workers to the front of the queue was ‘welcome and encouraging news’ and would give Nevada a ‘significant competitive advantage.’

Ms Valentine said: “The governor’s decision to expedite the front-line hospitality workforce in vaccine eligibility is very encouraging news. Protecting the front-line members of Nevada’s economic engine sends a clear message to visitors and meeting and convention organizers that Nevada is the world’s safest travel and tourist destination.”

“The more Nevadans are swiftly vaccinated, the sooner our transmission rates decrease across the community,” she added. “We believe this will provide peace of mind to visitors and influence their travel decisions against other communities where the rates of vaccination among front staff would be less certain. This will help reduce the strain on our public health infrastructure, rapidly increasing the number of vaccinations in the community and positioning the state for a faster and stronger economic recovery.”

“While Nevada’s resorts continue to take responsible actions to protect employees and guests, swift vaccine access will provide another layer of protection for resort employees, their families and the public. Further, protecting the frontline members of Nevada’s economic engine sends a clear message to visitors and meeting and convention organisers that Nevada is the world’s safest travel and tourism destination.”

Culinary Local 226, which represents about 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, has been working with Sisolak’s office and the resort association to ensure that hospitality workers have access to the COVID-19 vaccine, said Geoconda Argüello-Kline, the union’s secretary-treasurer.

“The hospitality industry is critical for the well-being of the entire state of Nevada, and the Culinary union is supportive of the governor’s designation of hospitality workers as essential,” she said in a statement

Gladis Blanco, a guest room attendant of eight years at Bellagio and a Culinary member, said hospitality workers are on the front lines of the pandemic, interacting with customers from across the world. She thanked Sisolak for “acknowledging that hospitality workers are essential” and said she would feel “peace of mind” that a vaccine could keep her and her family safe.

“I will be first in line for the vaccination when it is my turn,” Blanco said through a Culinary spokeswoman statement.

Nevada gaming regulators have issued a notice to gaming license holders last week asking them to complete a Licensee Workforce Vaccination Survey.

Gaming Control Board Chairman Brin Gibson said: “The survey is intended to effectively and efficiently gather aggregated numerical information about Nevada’s gaming workforce. No personally identifiable information or protected health information be included in the survey results and that employers should not collect this type of private information in developing responses to survey questions.”

“Administration of vaccine to individuals within this group will occur as vaccine program leaders receive adequate vaccine doses and when state and county public health leadership conclude it is appropriate according to the prioritization regime outlined in Version 3 of the State Vaccination Playbook,” Mr. Gibson said.

Nevada’s casinos endured a 78-day shutdown due to the pandemic that finished on June 4, but with restricted capacity and a lack of airline tourism the bounce back has been slow.

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