07/01/2020

Coronavirus Tracker: Food Industry Seeks Vaccination Priority

July 1, 2020

Current updates on association response to the global COVID-19 crisis, along with a roundup of conference, travel and business news and information.

A Case for Early Vaccine Access
A vaccine for COVID-19 may be many months away, but the food industry is pushing the federal government to assign high priority to its employees when a vaccine becomes available.

As POLITICO reported on Monday, more than a dozen industry groups—among them the American Bakers Association (ABA), the National Restaurant Association (NRA), the North American Meat Institute (NAMI), the United Fresh Produce Association (UFPA), the Consumer Brands Association (CBA) and the National Confectioners Association (NCA)—sent a letter to President Donald Trump last week urging a coordinated federal vaccine distribution effort and asking that food industry workers be prioritized for vaccination after healthcare workers, first responders and high-risk populations.

“Our members have been on the front lines of the response to the pandemic by continuing operations and ensuring Americans have access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food,” the letter states. “Challenges have taxed the food supply chain over the past four months, but the food, agriculture, CPG [consumer packaged goods] and retail industries are resilient and the supply chain did not break.”

Please select this link to read the complete article from Associations Now.