Thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners, air-traffic controller workers and federal accident investigators are still waiting to receive the coronavirus vaccine despite being essential workers who've been assigned priority.
According to Bloomberg, the issue is that vaccines are being delivered by various state and local health agencies with different standards for priority. "It's incredibly frustrating," Jennifer Homendy of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) told the news agency. "The vaccine rollout from my point of view has been mismanaged."
Nearly one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 6,100 TSA employees, mostly checkpoint screeners, have contracted the virus and at least 14 have died, TSA confirmed. Meanwhile, more than 900 air-traffic controllers with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have been infected with coronavirus, the agency reported.
"TSA has been pushed to the back of the line for some reason," Hydrick Thomas, president of the American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council 100 union, told Bloomberg. "We are protecting the country. When it comes down to protecting the employees, they are very lackadaisical."
The lack of access to vaccines has prompted acting secretary of Homeland Security David Pekoske to establish a new task force called Operation Vaccinate our Workforce. "My vow to you is that I will have no higher priority than your health and safety," Pekoske wrote in a letter seen by Bloomberg.
A recent survey of American travelers conducted by market research consultancy Longwoods International revealed that the COVID-19 vaccine could be the biggest key to returning travel to pre-pandemic levels, with a majority of respondents (70 percent) indicating that vaccines will impact their travel decisions.
More than 23 million vaccines have been given in the U.S. since mid-December.
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