Q: Who’s eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine under Phase 1C Grand Forks Public Health’s countywide vaccination plan?
The lists of occupations included in that phase isn’t all-inclusive and can’t realistically be all-inclusive, but, even so, some Grand Forks-area vaccination messages may have been confusing: the local health department’s website, for instance, says that “workers enabling access to human food, (i.e. grocery workers), not including restaurant workers” are eligible, but further down that list says that “restaurant staff” are eligible, and its Facebook posts have only said “grocery workers.”
So the Herald asked people on a Grand Forks COVID-19 Facebook page which occupations they aren’t sure are eligible for a vaccine, then forwarded that list on to Grand Forks Public Health staff. Only one occupation that page members were curious about – tattoo artist – is ineligible, according to the local health department’s response.
“I’m not finding a category where tattoo artist falls into essential worker,” Tiffany Boespflug, a health promotion team leader at the local health department, wrote in an email response to the Herald.
Aside from that, every other asked-about occupation is eligible for a vaccine, according to health department staff, which means that people with the following jobs can receive a vaccine from the city and Altru Health System’s combined vaccination program:
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Contract food delivery workers such as Doordash and Uber Eats drivers
Garbage men
Private teachers and tutors such and piano and voice teachers
Servers, waiters, and cooks in restaurants
Postal workers
Workers at hair salons
Masseuses
Library workers
Truck drivers
Higher education workers, including faculty, staff, and people who work in custodial or food service positions there
A relatively lengthy list of people eligible for the vaccine is on the health department’s website .
Do you have questions about vaccinations in Grand Forks? Email them to jbowen@gfherald.com
Glad You Asked is a segment in the Grand Forks Herald. Do you have a locally interesting question you'd like answered? Submit it to letters@gfherald.com and we'll consider it. Be sure to put "Glad You Asked" in the subject line.
