Pittsburgh City Council Pushes To Prioritize Restaurant Workers For Vaccines
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - For months in Pennsylvania, we've been stuck in the Phase 1A group for vaccinations. As we continue to see additional clinics pop up and more people getting vaccinated, who is getting the shot is changing.
Some state restrictions will soon be lifted and now city leaders want the focus to be on restaurant workers. They say it's time for them to be protected.
"More and more people, when the weather continues to break, are going to want to be out to do things they usually do" like eating at a restaurant or getting a drink at a bar, said Pittsburgh City Councilman, Corey O'Connor.
This month, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that he will be easing some restrictions on April 4, like allowing alcohol services without the purchase of food and increasing indoor dining capacity to 75%.
More freedom means more people inside establishments. This led to City Council considering the safety of our restaurant workers at their meeting Tuesday morning.
"And those individuals who work like chefs, bartenders or whatever they might be, should start moving up on the list," said O'Connor.
That list being the vaccine list. It would be like placing them along with firefighters and EMS workers.
"We're not saying, 'people in 1A, we're throwing you out.' We're just saying that this is gonna be a group that we have to start thinking about because more and more people will start frequenting restaurants," said O'Connor.
Right now, a decision is not being made, rather, Council is wanting to open up the conversation with the governor. Councilman Corey O'Connor says we should get a better idea on the consideration in a few weeks.