Shopworkers should be one of the first to get Covid vaccine, union urges

By Liz Wells in Industry News 24th November 2020

Retail trade union Usdaw is urging the government to ensure shopworkers and delivery drivers are high on the priority list for the Covid vaccines and routine testing.

The UK government is confident that some of the most at-risk groups will be vaccinated before Christmas, reports suggest.

Paddy Lillis, Usdaw general secretary, said: “Retail staff are working with the public every day and are not only at risk of abuse but also contracting Covid-19, that needs to be taken into consideration when assessing their risk level and priority lists for vaccines and testing.

“It is clear that it is going to take some time to deliver vaccines and it is right that the most vulnerable will be prioritised in the first phase. However, we do call on the government to ensure that retail workers and delivery drivers are given priority before the vaccine is rolled out to the general population.”