Bay Area transit groups want vaccine prioritization

In a March 4 letter addressed to Bay Area public health departments, various Bay Area labor and transit agency representatives asked for prioritization of vaccinations for front-line transit workers, which would include public transportation workers at SamTrans, Caltrain and airport workers at San Francisco International Airport in San Mateo County. The letter cited a study that transportation and logistic workers have been hardest hit by excess mortality during the past year. It also asked for prioritization due to the unique role transit operators play in transporting front-line health care, elderly care, grocery and pharmacy workers to and from workplaces. Many transit agencies will be involved in taking children to school when they reopen. Dan Lieberman, spokesman for the San Mateo County Transit District, said SamTrans has had 26 front-line staff test positive since the pandemic, while Caltrain had 14 people test positive.

Diana Gallego, 40, is a front-line transit operator with SamTrans, driving routes throughout the county. She has not gotten the vaccine yet and does not know how long it might take if she is not prioritized. She is worried about transporting people, particularly as there are times when there are lots of different people on the bus that increase exposure.

“I have a husband and daughters, of course, I want to take care of myself and them,” she said.

Navarro said the 415 workers he represents have been on the job since last March, and around 35 to 40 members have tested positive since the pandemic. When the state in January changed to an age-based eligibility vaccine prioritization system, transit employees originally in Phase 1b Tier 2 were pushed down the priority list. Many are under stress and anxiety due to the pandemic while also dealing with risks of the job, including transit operators picking up passengers and maintenance workers sanitizing buses. Workers face COVID-19 exposure risks daily, including passengers who don’t adhere to the mask mandate for safety when riding. SamTrans now offers bus route options for free to vaccination sites, putting drivers and operators in close contact with people who have yet to be vaccinated. He believes it is an insult that transit operators provide free SamTrans rides to vaccination sites but are not eligible to receive it under current county restrictions. He has not received an update from the county since the letter about vaccine prioritization.

San Francisco city officials recently mandated San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency workers would be prioritized for vaccination.

San Mateo County Manager Mike Callagy said in a prepared statement that San Mateo County is aligning with state eligibility criteria for 1b Tier 1 population and that it interprets guidelines to include transit workers in the essential worker category of Transportation and Logistics and not Emergency Services, which falls under the 1b Tier 1 population. The statement also said the county did not have a sufficient supply of vaccines to address the currently eligible population, around 217,000.

“To date, we have only reached 67% of eligible older adults ages 65+. We will further consider the inclusion of the population of adults under the age of 65 with underlying medical conditions made eligible by the state effective March 15, depending on the vaccine supply that San Mateo County vaccinating entities receive and our reach of the currently eligible group.”

Charles Stone, SamTrans chair and Belmont mayor, signed the letter to ensure front-line transit workers who face COVID-19 exposure through public contact are vaccinated. Many transit operators for SamTrans and Caltrain worked through the pandemic and will see an uptick in ridership in the coming months. Stone said there are still front-line workers needing vaccinations.

“If we are asking people to give rides, then we should make sure they should be vaccinated as soon as possible,” Stone said.

Julie Lind, executive secretary-treasurer of the San Mateo County Central Labor Council, signed the letter because transit and airport workers are essential workers and face exposure and transmission risks as other essential workers but have not been prioritized like others. She said many have been working through the pandemic and are essential but are not being treated the same for vaccinations as other essential workers. She said San Mateo County follows strict state guidelines on vaccination priority protocol to ensure it receives its vaccinations, but it does have the priority to utilize its flexibility to add in transit workers in priority status.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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