Casino workers will be among the first to vaccinate in Nevada, health authorities and Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak have confirmed.
Las Vegas Casino Workers Get on the Fast Lane to Covid-19 Inoculation
To realize the potential of Las Vegas and Nevada once again, casino employees should be among the first vaccinated, caution casino industry officials for whom 2021 will be a crossing point following a hard year during which the pandemic paralyzed businesses and wrote off billions of revenue.
For those willing to vaccinate in the casino industry, this is good news. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has confirmed that essential workers, such as health personnel, teachers, resort workers and others will have expedited access to vaccines. The announcement comes amid extended restrictions until January 15.
All of these individuals fall in the “Tier 1 Lane”. According to Nevada Resort Association Virginia Valentine this is a stepping-stone for the state’s recovery.
To put things in perspective, an estimated 25% of Nevada’s workforce is employed in the leisure and hospitality sectors, making it essential to the state to protect its workforce first. Because of these employees prolonged exposure to customer interaction, it was crucial to go through with vaccination, health authorities explained.
Inoculations Begin with Online Forms Launched
Workers may already begin submitting applications to be inoculated, and the process is made easier with online applications. Many have echoed support for vaccination, including Candice McDaniel, chief of the state Department of Health and Human Services.
Valentine expects having a vaccinated workforce to translate into a competitive advantage allowing Nevada to bounce back after a rocky 2020. The hope is to suppress the disease transmission rate, which has forced Nevada on lockdown several times with severe ramifications for businesses across the Silver State.
Unemployment has shot up sharply and gaming revenue tanked throughout most of last year. With the pandemic ongoing, only 20 million people visited Las Vegas or a 50% decline in overall visitations.
“Protecting the front-line members of Nevada’s economic engine sends a clear message to visitors and meeting and convention organizers that Nevada is the world’s safest travel and tourist destination,” said Valentine sharing her confidence that economic recovery is imminent.
Having fewer people falling sick will mean reduced strain on the healthcare system with Nevada facing a healthcare crunch around New Year’s, but staving it off successfully as the government and health authorities stepped in to suspend most celebrations.
While economic recovery won’t happen overnight, observers expect the convention industries to have picked back up successfully by the second half of 2021. Yet, highly-dependent on travel, Nevada’s economy faces hard times in the short term.