CGA President Appointed to CDPH’s Vaccine Advisory Committee
To help emphasize the importance of vaccinating grocery workers, California Grocers Association (CGA) President and CEO Ron Fong was appointed to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Community Vaccine Advisory Committee, which is tasked with providing input into the distribution and allocation of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to have a seat at the table as the vaccine begins being distributed throughout California,” Fong said. “It’s critical the state prioritize front-line grocery workers to receive the vaccine, after health care workers. “
“While the COVID-19 vaccine is new, we are not starting our planning process from scratch. This is an area of expertise we have strong partnerships in, building on lessons learned from previous vaccination campaigns, including H1N1 and seasonal flu,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom when announcing the committee last month. “We’ve been planning and thinking about this for months, and we are being guided by some of the world’s best experts in this field.”
The Community Vaccine Advisory Committee, under the direction of Dr. Erica Pan, acting state public health officer, will build on the work of the Scientific Safety Review Work Group and the Drafting Guidelines Work Group. The Committee will provide input and feedback for the ongoing planning and engagement efforts to ensure equitable vaccine distribution and allocation. In the beginning, vaccine supplies will be limited and will be distributed to those at highest risk.
The retail industry thinks it qualifies as one of those groups at high risk. In a letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Dec. 17, Seattle-based Amazon requested that its front-line workers at its warehouses, data centers and Whole Foods Market grocery stores receive the vaccine “at the earliest appropriate time.” Amazon wrote that it employs more than 800,000 people in the United States, making it the nation’s second-largest employer behind Walmart.
“We also want to help coordinate the safe vaccine distribution from grocery store pharmacies to our communities and employees," added Fong. "As a vital component of every community, local grocery pharmacies provide a convenient, safe location to distribute the vaccine."
For example, Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens is working with nearly 35,000 skilled nursing and assisted-living facilities nationwide that have selected the company as their vaccine provider.
Additionally, The Kroger Co., Albertsons Cos. and dozens of other U.S. grocery retailers decided to team up with the Department of Health and Human Services to administer the free COVID-19 vaccines.
For more than 120 years, Sacramento-based CGA has served as the voice of the state’s grocery community. A nonprofit, statewide trade association, its membership comprises more than 300 retailers operating more than 6,000 brick-and-mortar stores, and approximately 150 grocery supply companies.
This is Fong’s second appointment to a statewide pandemic-related committee. Earlier this year, he was invited to participate on Newsom’s Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery.
Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart operates more than 11,300 stores under 56 banners in 27 countries, and e-commerce websites, employing 2.2 million-plus associates worldwide. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's list of the top food retailers in North America, while Walmart-owned Sam's Club ranks No. 9 on PG's list and Amazon, Kroger, Walgreens and Albertsons are No. 2, 3, 4 and 8, respectively.
