Public transit workers eligible starting Monday
Workers at BART, Caltrain, VTA and other agencies now included on updated list for shots
Bus drivers, BART station agents and other employees of California’s public transportation systems could get COVID vaccines as soon as next week after the state’s Department of Public Health broadened its eligibility rules Thursday.
The updated rules now include transit workers among a group of more than 4 million Californians who will become eligible for vaccines starting Monday. The list also includes people between the ages of 16 and 64 who have serious medical conditions and disabilities.
With supplies of the potentially lifesaving vaccines still tight across California, that doesn’t necessarily mean those workers will be able to get a shot right away. About 13 million people are already eligible to get vaccinated, and state officials warn they expect it could take weeks for significantly more doses to flood the state.
Still, public transportation advocates cheered the decision Thursday.
“We thank the state’s public health officials for this renewed commitment to protecting transit workers,” Michael Pimentel, the executive director of the California Transit Association, which lobbies on behalf of agencies, wrote in a statement. “Today’s announcement ensures that these workers will soon be protected and further improves the safety of transit trips as California continues working toward a equitable and safe reopening of our economy.”
Transit employees, their unions and agency leaders had been pushing the department to prioritize them for shots, because they have throughout the pandemic been showing up for critical jobs that in many cases involve face-to-face interaction with the public. They had been among the essential workers who appeared to lose their place in the line for vaccines when California shifted its strategy in January to make older adults a higher priority.
In its updated eligibility rules, the California Department of Public Health wrote transit workers “are at high risk for occupational exposure, and maintaining continuity of transportation operations is critical.”