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COVID-19

Food, Beverage, and CPG Industries Urge Priority COVID-19 Vaccination

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The food, beverage, and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industries have been strongly advocating for priority COVID-19 vaccination for their employees, citing concerns over worker absenteeism and the risk of supply chain disruption. Fifteen trade associations representing these industries have written to President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden's transition team, requesting that their workers be given priority for vaccination as soon as a vaccine becomes available.

Key Takeaways:

  • The trade associations, which include the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) and the Consumer Brands Association, have requested priority vaccination for their employees, highlighting the importance of maintaining a healthy workforce to ensure consistent inventories of life-sustaining products.
  • Worker absenteeism is a significant concern in manufacturing facilities, with over 72,000 food system workers testing positive for coronavirus and at least 329 dying in the past eight months, according to the Food and Environment Reporting Network.
  • The trade groups want to ensure that a nationally coordinated vaccine distribution program is in place, with their workers being prioritized alongside healthcare workers, first responders, and high-risk individuals.
  • The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has been reported to be over 90% effective, while Moderna's vaccine has shown a 94.5% effectiveness rate in early studies, with some insiders expecting a vaccine to be available to priority groups as early as early 2021.
  • The trade associations' letter to Trump also highlighted the importance of protecting farm workers and meat processing plant employees, who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

Statistics:

  • 15 trade associations have requested priority COVID-19 vaccination for their employees.
  • Over 72,000 food system workers have tested positive for coronavirus in the past eight months.
  • At least 329 food system workers have died from coronavirus in the past eight months.
  • 90% - effectiveness of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine.
  • 94.5% - effectiveness of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in early studies.
  • 2021 - earliest expected date for a vaccine to be available to priority groups.

Sources:

  • "Food and agriculture trade groups urge Trump to prioritize COVID-19 vaccination for workers" by Elaine Watson, FoodDive.com (November 12, 2020)
  • "COVID-19 and the Food Supply" by the Food and Environment Reporting Network (multiple publications)
  • "Pfizer CEO reveals 90% efficacy rate for COVID-19 vaccine" by Bob Bryan, CNBC (November 9, 2020)
  • "Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine is 94.5% effective in early study" by Edwin Chen, Bloomberg (November 16, 2020)

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