Trucking's elevated social status, however, didn't translate when a coronavirus vaccine became available in December, as transportation employees that didn't meet certain age or preexisting condition guidelines were mostly relegated to the third wave of vaccination eligibility. In some states, drivers and fleet employees still aren't eligible. A handful of others have just recently entered into their third phase. Mississippi this week joined Alaska's as only the second state to open vaccination appointments to all residents 16 years and older.
Many states require proof of residency in order to be inoculated there, and varying eligibility criteria in the states that don't complicates matters for drivers who may seldom return to their home state, yet may or may not be eligible in any of the states through which they drive.
To streamline the effort, National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO) President and CEO Lisa Mullings has called on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to designate truck stops and travel plazas as mobile vaccination sites for the distribution of COVID vaccines to truck drivers and truck stop employees, regardless of where they live.
[Related: Truck inspections expected to rebound in 2021 following sagging 2020]
Holding vaccination clinics at truck stops, specifically trucks stops that already have medical clinics said JKC Trucking Vice President Mike Kucharski, "would be a step in the right direction."
