While " other essential workers " seems vague , it is likely that the CDC will defer to Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency ( CISA ) guidance to identify the critical populations of essential workers that should be prioritized in phase 1c . In light of National Apartment Association ( NAA ) and National Multi Housing Council ( NMHC ) advocacy , CISA guidance already acknowledges that apartment communities are part of our nation ’ s critical infrastructure and the essential work that rental housing professionals provide , including :
Workers responsible for the leasing of residential properties to provide individuals and families with ready access to available housing .
Workers responsible for handling property management , maintenance , and related service calls who can coordinate the response to emergency “ at-home ” situations requiring immediate attention , as well as facilitate the reception of deliveries , mail , and other necessary services .
Given that Phase 1c populations include upwards of 129 million Americans , it is vital that the NAA affiliate network continue their advocacy in the states to ensure that property management staff are given priority in distribution of the vaccine as they are the ultimate decisionmakers . The CDC ' s guidance is influential but not binding . Even with all of the federal government ’ s planning , initial allocations of the vaccine will fall short in terms of vaccinating tens of millions of frontline workers and high risk Americans , and states already have plans for set asides within CDC ’ s broad categorizations to meet their own unique needs . According to the New York Times , Arkansas , for example , has proposed including workers in its large poultry industry , while Colorado wants to include ski industry workers who live in congregate housing .
The Atlantic cites research in their reporting which found 70 percent of American workers can be defined as essential and 42 percent as frontline workers that directly interact with the public . This makes it all the more challenging for the countless lobbyists and advocacy organizations that are vying for dedicated allocations of the vaccine for their industry . We must build a groundswell of support for the rental housing industry to separate us from the crowded field .
To assist the NAA afiliate network in their advocacy efforts , NAA has put together a letter template to use as a starting point for reaching out to your appropriate state agency . For more information , contact Nicole Upano , Director of Public Policy .
www . aamdhq . org
Colorado Prioritization Update
COURTESY AXIOM POLITICS
Earlier this month , Governor Polis and Jill Hunsaker Ryan , Executive
Director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment ( CDPHE ), provided an update on the state ’ s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccine plan prioritization process .
The State is off to a great start in 2021 , and Colorado is ranked among the top 20 states in the country for the most successful vaccination programs . The Governor emphasized that the administration ’ s top priority remains to ensure that vaccines are distributed as rapidly and safely as possible . And in order to return to our normal way of life in a responsible way , mass vaccination is critical .
Director Ryan also reiterated the importance of distributing vaccines and vaccinating as many Coloradans as quickly as the federal chain supply will allow .
This statewide mission to vaccinate Coloradans in mass includes updates in the prioritization plan to ensure that our highest-risk populations , especially , are not left behind . That ’ s why the Governor announced last week that Coloradans age 70 and up will now be included in Phase 1B . 78 % of all COVID related deaths in Colorado have come from this age group . The more quickly we can get this group vaccinated , the more lives we can save .
• The total estimated number of Coloradans eligible to be vaccinated in Phase 1B is 1,315,000 , and includes frontline essential workers in the following industries :
• Education , food and agriculture , manufacturing , U . S . postal service , public transit and specialized transportation staff , grocery , public health , frontline essential human service workers , and direct care providers for Coloradans experiencing homelessness ;
• Essential officials from executive , legislative , and judicial branches of state government ; and
• Essential frontline journalists .
The State remains hopeful that Phase 1 can be completed this winter and the move to Phase 2 can happen by the spring . It is still expected that Colorado ’ s general population will have access to the vaccine by the summer .
The Governor reminded Coloradans that these next couple of months are going to be a race against the virus . In order to win , we ’ re going to need to vaccinate as many people as we can -- especially our highest-risk populations .
Until we can widely administer the vaccine , we all have to do our part to prevent loss of life and further spread of the virus .
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