Atlantic City is one area in the United States that has been hit particularly hard due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because the area relies on casinos to boost the economy, when the pandemic hit, the shutdown took a tool on the region. Then the reopening process occurred, but venues were restricted as to how many people they could welcome along with offering no dining or drinking services. These restrictions are eased somewhat today, but casinos are still operating at a lower level. Now, the city is working hard to vaccinate its hospitality workers so that operations can continue and hopefully expand in the near future.
Opening Up the Vaccination Process
When the COVID-19 vaccination process began, it was limited to the elderly, seniors of a certain age range as they were the most vulnerable. Over the past few weeks, the eligibility criteria have changed, providing more people with the opportunity to become vaccinated. This week, Governor Phil Murphy announced that hospitality employees in the state are now able to be vaccinated.
According to AtlantiCare, a mega site is offering casino workers the vaccination in Atlantic County. With vaccinations, the local employees will be able to help protect the community and create a safe and healthy environment for visitors.
AtlantiCare, The Casino Association of New Jersey, and Unite Here Local 54 worked hard to see the employees of casinos vaccinated. The goal is to have all 25,000 employees fully vaccinated by Memorial Day. Unite Here is leading the charge in the vaccination process, ensuring that the supply of vaccines continues to come in so that casino workers can be vaccinated each day.
Casinos are helping too by ensuring employees know how the process works and that they can sign up to be vaccinated if they so choose. Casinos provided step-by-step instructions on how to register for the vaccination and schedule an appointment.
Employees have a unique password for each property to use when registering online. This helps to streamline the process as Atlantic City is home to nine casinos. Employees must show their identification from the casino or Local 54 union to be able to enter the vaccination site.
Right now, as many as 4,000 vaccinations or more are being administered daily via AtlantiCare. Since the site launched in late January, over 140,000 doses o the vaccine have been provided.
Employees Are Ready for Stability
It is expected that most hospitality employees in Atlantic City will sign up for vaccination. Workers are ready for more stability and the vaccination process provides that. With more people vaccinated, it leads to lower COVID-19 cases and gaming venues are not forced to shut down.
Right now, casinos are operating at a lower capacity and doing everything they can to ensure the virus does not become a problem again. No one wants to be laid off again or uncertain about their working future.
In the US, the hope is that the majority will be vaccinated, and the process will run smoothly. Everyone is ready to get back to normal, visiting casinos and other hot tourist spots, just enjoying life instead of worrying about the pandemic. For casino employees, they just want to get back to work in a safe and healthy environment, one that is stable and provides regular working hours. Hopefully, this will be seen sooner rather than later as the vaccination process continues.