Pandemic concerns put Nevada brothels off-limits
State-run sites in Valley provide shots after shifts
LAS VEGAS – Before the coronavirus pandemic, tourist-dependent Nevada had a notorious attraction: It was the only place in the U.S. where someone could legally pay for sex.
These days, even in the state known for sin, the business is taboo.
Legal brothels have been shuttered for nearly a year, leaving sex workers to offer less-lucrative alternatives like online dates or nonsexual escort services. Those in the industry said many of the licensed prostitutes, who work as independent contractors, have struggled to qualify for unemployment benefits since closures began in March and some have opted to take their work into the shadows, offering sex illegally.
Although legal bordellos might seem incompatible with social distancing, sex workers and brothel owners said that’s not the case. Like other closecontact industries such as massage therapy and dental services, they contend brothels should be allowed to reopen with protective measures.
“We could easily do work at arm’s length, just the same as they do within the massage parlors, which are open in the state of Nevada,” sex worker Alice Little said. “You can go to a dentist and have him put his hands in your mouth. You can go to a tattoo parlor and get your face tattooed right now . ... You’re certainly not masked for any of those things.”
A state task force that makes recommendations on coronavirus restrictions hasn’t responded to pleas from brothel owners seeking a way to reopen. And a lawsuit Little filed against Gov. Steve Sisolak last year fizzled.
The Democratic governor recently said brothels, along with other adult entertainment like nightclubs and strip clubs, would stay closed at least through May 1. After that, the state might let counties decide whether to allow those businesses to open, as long as COVID-19 infections aren’t surging.
Prostitution is only legal in Nevada’s estimated 20 licensed brothels, whose
sex workers undergo regular tests for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/ AIDS and obtain required work cards from local law enforcement after passing an FBI background check.
Other brothel workers who are not comfortable linking their faces to online sex work have had a harder time pivoting to virtual services, she said. Finding a job outside the stigmatized sex industry also can be tough, Little said, because background checks can reveal the work authorization cards prostitutes must have in brothels.
Allissa Starr, who was working at Sheri’s Ranch brothel in Pahrump, about an hour outside Las Vegas, said some women she worked with are illegally offering sex for money despite virus concerns.
Starr said she’s able to cover her bills but can no longer put thousands in savings. She moved to Pittsburgh to live closer to family and save on rent. She’s starting a self-care business but said if Nevada’s brothels reopen, she would come back to work one week a month.
“It’s a way to easily provide money for me and my family, and it’s a way to provide security,” Starr said.
Reopening the brothels, Starr said, is “a personal risk, just like traveling. If you wear your mask, if the girls got COVID tests before they came to the ranch, I think it could be done safely.”
High-capacity COVID-19 vaccination sites in Arizona cannot operate without thousands of volunteers whose donated time often comes with a perk: a shot at the end of their shift.
Volunteers range from retired doctors to eager helpers to those who just want to put in one shift as a fast track to beat the vaccine line.
The website for one local group coordinating vaccine volunteers crashed this month because of overwhelming interest, and the link had not even gone public yet.
At some locations, vaccine volunteers are given the shot after one working shift, though not all sites guarantee an inoculation in exchange for volunteer work.
Well over 500 volunteers are needed daily to make two state-run vaccine sites in Maricopa County work. That’s just a fraction of the volunteer time and energy needed across the state so that the COVID-19 vaccine rollout runs smoothly, efficiently and quickly.
Both stadium sites in Maricopa County operate as public-private partnerships.
Among the partners are the Ben and Catherine Ivy Foundation, the Arizona Cardinals, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Arizona State University, Walgreens, Glendale, and the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona enlisted its 2,500 employees to become volunteers, in addition to doing their current jobs, company CEO Pam Kehaly said in an emailed statement. Together they’ve put in more than 85,000 volunteer hours since the State Farm site opened, she said.
The company is paying employees for up to two days of volunteer time.
‘It totally went viral’: Website crashes with influx of volunteers
HandsOn Greater Phoenix, a local nonprofit, has been coordinating volunteer efforts throughout the pandemic. When mass vaccinations were in the
works for Phoenix Municipal Stadium, the organization asked ASU if it could help register volunteers for the site, said Rhonda Oliver, HandsOn president and CEO.
The organization on Feb. 4 opened registration for 4,200 February volunteer slots. About 15,000 people tried to register, crashing the organization’s website. They’ve received thousands of emails and phone calls from people looking to volunteer.
HandsOn Greater Phoenix didn’t even have a chance to share its volunteer link publicly in early February. It was sent to partners, with a plan to post publicly in the evening, but it ended up all over social media ahead of time. “It totally went viral,” Oliver said. “It was a little crazy. We knew people were interested, because as it stands now, if you volunteer for a shift, you get the vaccine at the end of your shift, so obviously that’s a big carrot,” Oliver said. “We knew they were going to be popular; we didn’t quite realize to what degree.”
The work the volunteers are doing is essential to efficiently running the operations. State Farm Stadium, for example, is doing 350 to 400 shots per hour, and thousands of cars are moving in and out of the site every day.
The stadium sites include areas of the parking lot divided into sections for
various functions, including patient check-in, patient appointment number verification, data verification, “well being and discharge” and a separate area to set appointments for a second vaccine dose.
While some volunteers work multiple days, others just do one shift, then get their shot and an appointment for a second dose.
State sites vaccinate volunteers
State Farm Stadium opened on Jan. 11 as a mass vaccination site and is one of two state-operated mass vaccination sites in Maricopa County. The other site is at ASU’s Phoenix Municipal Stadium near the Phoenix Zoo, which opened on Feb.1.
Both sites are open seven days per week, but State Farm Stadium is the only site operating 24/7.
The state sites combined had administered nearly 301,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine as of Friday, according to state data.
Nearly 72,000 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses at one of the sites, the state’s numbers showed Friday.
Slightly more than 1 million people statewide had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of Friday, which is nearly one-seventh of the state’s whole population. The number of people who have been fully vaccinated statewide represents about 4.8% of the Arizona population, the state numbers show.
About 375 volunteers are required each day at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services and about 260 are needed daily at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, according to HandsOn Greater Phoenix, which is coordinating volunteer efforts there.
Volunteers at state-run sites are able to get the vaccine at the end of their eight- or six-hours shifts at State Farm Stadium or Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
“These vaccination sites are viewed as healthcare settings since they are designed to provide a healthcare service. Healthcare and healthcare support workers are eligible for vaccination under the Phase 1A category,” Steve Elliott, a state health department spokesperson, wrote in an email.
Volunteers can sign up to help in a number of counties at www.azhealth. gov/volunteer or for state PODs, through partners Arizona State University and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona.
Elliott said qualifications depend on the position, although non-clinical volunteers do not need specific skills other than the ability to stand for multiple hours during a shift and sometimes knowledge of using an iPad.
Dr. Jordan Cohen, a retired neuroradiologist, signed up to volunteer so he could give his time and medical skills in exchange for a shot. He’s just below the current age eligibility but knew if he volunteered he’d get the vaccine after his first shift.
When he went for that first shift at State Farm Stadium, he saw there was a real need for medical volunteers. He received his shot and was not obliged to volunteer again, but he signed up to administer more vaccinations and encourages other medical workers to help out if they’re able.
“I’m happily retired, but this is something that I can do that can be helpful, and it’s obvious they need it,” Cohen said.
Cohen said administering the shots was a humbling and enjoyable experience, especially because those getting vaccinated were so grateful and happy.
“It’s a win-win because you’re also doing something for them, and you’re doing something for the community as well,” he said. “It’s a good thing to do — it made me feel good and it made people feel good.”
Angela Pitts, senior manager of clinical quality and disease management at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, has been volunteering at State Farm Stadium for several weeks. Her training as a registered nurse has been needed to both administer vaccines and observe people after they have been vaccinated for reactions.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona allows employees to do some volunteer work on company time, but Pitts has already exceeded those hours and is now donating her time to doing about one eight-hour shift per week. She began volunteering in January and has already received two doses of vaccine.
“As an added sort of side bonus, when I do go to volunteer I get to see my colleagues I haven’t seen in a year now because we are all working from home,” Pitts said.
The people who are getting vaccinated are “overwhelmingly” appreciative and some have brought gifts of masks and chocolates for the volunteers, Pitts said.
“Each shift, on my way home, I know I’ve made a difference for a lot of people. I’ve been doing 10 to 16 shots per hour over an eight-hour shift. That’s almost 100 people that I know I personally made a difference for that day,” she said.
Some people have told Pitts how hard it was to get an appointment, but they rarely complain about it or go into much detail. They are just grateful to get vaccinated, she said.
Maricopa County volunteers not guaranteed a shot
In Maricopa County, volunteers have been integral to the operations of the county’s large-scale POD vaccine sites.
The county has gotten an “astonishing volume of applications” and added six new staff members to process volunteer forms, county spokesperson Ron Coleman wrote in an email.
The county’s Medical Reserve Corps has grown to about 4,000 volunteers, among the largest in the nation, so the county has plenty of available volunteers, Coleman said. The county is prioritizing volunteers with clinical experience. All must pass a background check and medical volunteers must show their license. Interested volunteers can register
and apply online.
Volunteer roles include helping seniors register for appointments, logistics, mailing, long-term care facility support and medical positions. The first 10 days of February had about 1,000 filled volunteer shifts with an average of 99 volunteers per day at county POD sites.
Shots are not guaranteed for volunteers, according to the county.
“Volunteers may be eligible to receive a vaccine, which is part of our strategy to reduce end-of-day waste of doses,” Coleman wrote. “Specifics may vary by location as each location is led by a different partner organization. The Maricopa County PODs do not guarantee that any volunteer will receive a vaccination as a result of volunteering.”
Dr. John Mougin, chief quality officer for Northern Arizona Healthcare, which operates two hospitals and a COVID-19 vaccination site at a Flagstaff Elks Lodge, said volunteering at the vaccine site does not “guarantee” a shot, but volunteers so far have often ended up getting them if available.
Volunteers “are a great target for extra doses at the end of the day,” Mougin said during a Monday news briefing.
“Our goal is always to make sure that every dose we have gets in an arm. Frequently, our volunteers are readily available,” Mougin said. “For example, the first few days we were open, we got the (Elks Lodge) volunteers vaccinations. I think most of them were in one of the (priority) groups anyways.”
Mougin said the policy on volunteers and vaccinations at the Elks Lodge seems to be similar around the state.
“Honestly, they are kind of working in a health care role as a volunteer,” he said. “In a way that almost moves them into a 1A priority.”
Health care workers in Arizona and across the U.S. were in the phase 1A top priority group for vaccination.
Organizer: Fast-track vaccine not the sole draw for volunteering
The Phoenix Municipal Stadium site needs about 260 volunteers per day, 200 of which are non-clinical, helping with things like check-in and data entry, and 60 of which are clinical, administering shots, Oliver from HandsOn said.
The volunteers direct traffic, check appointments, and sign people up for their second dose appointments. Some with medical backgrounds are administering shots.
After one six-hour shift, volunteers can get their vaccine, but Oliver doesn’t think that’s the sole draw.
“We probably wouldn’t have had 15,000 folks rushing our system ... if they weren’t getting the vaccine, but I do think there’s a desire to help and I think people are anxious to get back to life,” Oliver said. “They’re hankering to get back out there and do something.”
Volunteer sign-ups for non-vaccine projects surged in the days after people registered with the organization and didn’t get a vaccine slot but saw there were other ways to help, Oliver said.
The organization plans to continue to release vaccine volunteer shifts and to provide information on its website and social media in advance.
“I imagine the next set of shifts that we release, we’re going to see the same thing,” Oliver said.
“We hope the interest will remain high throughout the vaccine process so long as the sites are open,” she said because the sites could not operate without the volunteer workforce.
How to volunteer in your county
Here’s information on how to volunteer to help with the vaccine process in each county. Some counties use a statewide registration system and others have county-specific systems. Some nonprofit organizations are also coordinating volunteers.
Apache County: Visit the county health department’s website or call for more information.
Cochise County: Volunteers can sign up at www.esar-vhp.health.azdhs. gov through the state’s Emergency System for the Advanced Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals.
Coconino County: Health care professionals interested in volunteering can register at www.esar-vhp.health. azdhs.gov.
Gila County: Individuals interested in volunteering can email Twhitney@ gilacountyaz.gov.
Graham County: The Graham County Health Department is not using volunteer help because they have enough staff to work the vaccine clinics.
Greenlee County: Visit the county health department’s website or call for more information.
La Paz County: The county is using volunteers from its Medical Reserve Corps and elsewhere. Those interested in volunteering can email gbachmann@ lapazcountyaz.org.
Maricopa County: Individuals who are medically certified and licensed to provide vaccines can sign up to help at county vaccine sites. The county may also accept non-medical volunteers. Registration is at www.mcdph.samari tan.com/custom/501 and people can call 602-506-6767 or email MCDPHIRC SOperator@maricopa.gov with questions.
Mohave County: Medical volunteers can register through the county’s Medical Reserve Corps. Interested individuals can call 928-718-4909 or email kyle.fraser@mohavecounty.us.
Navajo County: Individuals interested in volunteering can email catri na.jenkins@navajocountyaz.gov.
Pima County: Medical personnel who want to volunteer can register through the Medical Reserve Corps of Southern Arizona at www.mrcsa.org/ application. Those without medical licenses can register to help in other ways through the state’s registration system at www.esar-vhp.health.azdhs.gov.
Pinal County: Visit the county health department’s website or call for more information.
Santa Cruz County: The county’s Medical Reserve Corps is closed to new registrations. Individuals can express interest in volunteering at www.scvo lunteernow.org/opportunity/a0C2I000 00ZKoe4UAD.
Yavapai County: Medical and nonmedical volunteers can register at www. esar-vhp.health.azdhs.gov. The county is working to reengage its existing volunteer base and recruit new volunteers.
Yuma County: Those interested in volunteering can register at www.esarvhp.health.azdhs.gov.
WASHINGTON – The nomination of Neera Tanden to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget was thrown in doubt Friday as Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia became the first Democratic lawmaker to oppose her confirmation.
During her confirmation hearings, Tanden apologized for spending years attacking top Republicans on social media. She is a former adviser to Hillary Clinton and served as president of the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress. With the Senate evenly divided between 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats, she’ll likely need support from at least one Republican to win confirmation.
“I believe her overtly partisan statements will have a toxic and detrimental impact on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next director of the Office of Management and Budget,” Manchin said in a statement. He went on to say that, at a time of grave crisis, “it is more important than ever that we chart a new bipartisan course that helps address the many serious challenges facing our nation.”
It’s the first real test that Biden has faced on a nomination, with most of his picks for Cabinet positions sailing through the chamber with bipartisan support. Tanden had also disparaged some Democrats on social media, most notably Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont.
Biden, asked Friday whether he would pull Tanden’s nomination, said he wouldn’t.
“I think we are going to find the votes and get her confirmed,” Biden said.
Moments earlier, the White House had issued a statement defending her.
“Neera Tanden is an accomplished policy expert who would be an excellent Budget Director and we look forward to the committee votes next week and to continuing to work toward her confirmation through engagement
with both parties,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
Tanden would be the first woman of color to lead the OMB, which leads efforts to ensure an administration’s priorities are reflected in legislation and regulations.
Tanden had taken heat during the confirmation process for past statements on social media that sometimes strayed into personal attacks on lawmakers.
During her confirmation hearings before the Senate Budget Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Tanden apologized for her past remarks.
“My language and my expressions on social media caused hurt to people, and I feel badly about that. And I really regret it and I recognize that it’s really important for me to demonstrate that I can work with others,” she told the Budget Committee earlier this month. “I would say social media does lead to too many personal comments and my approach will be radically different.”