Portable Sanitation Association International

ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION JANUARY 20, 2021 Page 22 What You Need to Know about the COVID Vaccine…continued from page 21 But the information available to us at this point suggests that, in general, our place in line will be shared with other essential workers in similar industries. The quirks of vaccine availability and timing may occasionally present opportunities for you and your employees to be vaccinated sooner. If it is important to you and your team to get vaccinated at the first possible moment, you will want to do these things: • Learn about your local vaccination plan and who is responsible for administering it. Generally, there is guidance coming from state health departments, and then local health departments and similar officials carry it out. You want to make contact with these people and learn all you can about how they are making decisions. • Educate them about the nature of our work. As stated earlier, that doesn't mean they'll move you up in line. But it will put you on their radar. If they have extra vaccine—which sometimes happens because the people for whom it was intended aren't available and the expiration/storage situation is dire—ask them to call you. • Stay flexible. If you can pull people out of the office and off the route quickly to get the vaccine during a very narrow window of time, your chances of getting it sooner go up. How the PSAI Can Help Although the PSAI has taken more than a few calls begging us to assist in moving portable sanitation closer to the head of the line, the dispersed distribution system means there is little we or anyone can do at a macro level. There's no single individual or agency to call, lobby, or plead with. What we can do is: • Provide you with documentation. If you need something in writing to help educate your local officials about the nature of our work and why they should consider your team if they have extra vaccine, we will provide it. • Consult with you and your local officials. If there is some way we can assist you in communicating with local health experts, let us know. Throughout the pandemic we have engaged with company leaders and various officials to help educate and solve problems. • Serve as a clearinghouse of information. Keep us in the loop about what is happening in your area. If everyone does that, the PSAI will be able to help you all learn and benefit from the experiences of others. • Provide/update resources as needed. We will continue to stay on top of vaccination-related topics and provide additional resources as it becomes clear they are needed. Make a point to attend the free-to-members virtual roundtable tomorrow for the latest on how the vaccine will and won't change the safety procedures your team will need to follow. If you can't make it, check out the recording when it is posted later. v

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