# COVID-19 Maritime News **URL:** \ **Category:** Professional Mariner Forum\ **Created:** [March 18, 2020, 10:08am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618 "2020-03-18T10:08:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![whizbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c5a1d2/32.png) [@whizbang](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/whizbang)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 1:00am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/184 "2020-12-22T01:00:26Z")
I think we’re pretty much considered generic transportation workers because we’re not really working with the public. Makes sense to me, but when I see the kind of DC flunkies and staffers who are getting vaccinated ahead of a lot of really exposed workers it makes me grumpy. Though being out at sea under the tender care of Doctor Mate and Nurse AB could count as high risk! And of course seafarers have been known to spread diseases because even the most cautious countries necessarily let mariners within spitting distance, most of them being islands and all. Oh well, we’ll get it eventually. ---
**Author:** ![tugsailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@tugsailor](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/tugsailor)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 3:51am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/185 "2020-12-22T03:51:20Z")
I don’t have the reference handy, but there is a CFR that specifies that Mariners are “essential transportation workers.” How does anyone think mariners are going to travel through airports and COVID infested areas as the infection rate gets much much worse, so that we can continue to deliver 90% of everything for everyone. It’s been well demonstrated how quickly COVID spreads onboard ship. We need priority for vaccination! ---
**Author:** ![whizbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c5a1d2/32.png) [@whizbang](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/whizbang)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 4:03am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/186 "2020-12-22T04:03:23Z")
Just glad the bureaucrats and their spouses are safe working from home with their nice new vaccines ---
**Author:** ![tugsailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@tugsailor](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/tugsailor)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 4:15am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/187 "2020-12-22T04:15:55Z")
There are only 3 million old people in nursing homes, so vaccinating them should not take very long. There are 53 million people over 65. It’s going to take quite awhile to vaccinate all of them. ---
**Author:** ![shipengr](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/shipengr/32/485_2.png) [@shipengr](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/shipengr)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 10:18pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/188 "2020-12-22T22:18:14Z")
> [@tugsailor](#): > > I don’t have the reference handy, but there is a CFR Don’t know of a CFR, but the Coast Guard put out an advisory MSIB back around March: > **[MSIB-11-20-Identification-of-Essential-Maritime-Critical-Infrastructure-Workers.pdf](https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/MSIB/2020/MSIB-11-20-Identification-of-Essential-Maritime-Critical-Infrastructure-Workers.pdf?ver=2020-03-27-152710-577)** > > 296.35 KB ---
**Author:** ![catherder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@catherder](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/catherder)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 3:45am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/189 "2020-12-23T03:45:27Z")
Don’t forget that each vaccine is a two part series. You will need to be around three weeks later for the second dose in order to get the full benefit. ---
**Author:** ![catherder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@catherder](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/catherder)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 3:48am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/190 "2020-12-23T03:48:13Z")
> [@whizbang](#): > > Just glad the bureaucrats and their spouses are safe working from home with their nice new vaccines I agree. Especially the ones who pranced around sans masks, who called it a hoax and held super-spreader events. May the fleas of a thousand camels infest their armpits. ---
**Author:** ![tugsailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@tugsailor](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/tugsailor)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/191 "2020-12-23T19:21:40Z")
At this point everyone in the trump Administration is focused on their own post-vaccination exit strategy. They don’t give a fig about getting us vaccinated. The Maritime Unions should start working on the Incoming Biden Administration. ---
**Author:** ![shipengr](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/shipengr/32/485_2.png) [@shipengr](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/shipengr)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/192 "2020-12-23T21:24:13Z")
> [@tugsailor](#): > > The Maritime Unions should start working on the Incoming Biden Administration. So as far as the government is concerned, merchant mariners are already considered Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers for Covid Vaccine purposes. It really shouldn’t be an issue, but companies might need to be a little proactive for their employees. The [CDC guidance](https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm695152e2.htm?s_cid=mm695152e2_w) already states that essential workers (non-medical) like Transportation are in the second round (Group 1b). They get their [definition of essential workers from CISA](https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/ECIW_4.0_Guidance_on_Essential_Critical_Infrastructure_Workers_Final3_508_0.pdf), who include _Maritime Transportation Workers_ citing the previously linked USCG MSIB. And really the focus has to be on States since its the individual States that decide their own vaccine group priorities. Shipping companies and unions should be working with state authorities to ensure their workers are scheduled according to the CDC Guidance. ---
**Author:** ![tugsailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@tugsailor](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/tugsailor)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 1:51am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/193 "2020-12-24T01:51:15Z")
So far it’s pretty much up to the Governors to determine priority. Do the Governors of Colorado, Montana, etc., know what Mariners are? ---
**Author:** ![tugsailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@tugsailor](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/tugsailor)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 3:33am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/194 "2020-12-24T03:33:05Z")
# Explainer-U.S. vaccine rollout’s next challenge: Verifying who is ‘essential’ By [Tina Bellon](https://www.reuters.com/journalists/tina-bellon), [Melissa Fares](https://www.reuters.com/journalists/melissa-fares) (Reuters) -As U.S. industries push for their workers to receive early access to COVID-19 vaccines, local health departments and pharmacies face the challenge of verifying the identity of essential workers to ensure no one cuts the line. FILE PHOTO: A healthcare worker receives a dose of the Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, California, U.S., December 22, 2020. REUTERS/Bing Guan The vaccination campaign under way is now focused on hospital staff and nursing homes, tightly controlled environments where verification is relatively simple. But beginning in January or February, Americans employed in a range of industries will be eligible for inoculation, provided they are essential frontline workers. The absence of a plan to verify vaccine candidates’ jobs and confusion over who qualifies as essential raise the risks of fraud and disorganization. ## WHO DECIDES WHICH WORKER IS ESSENTIAL? The criteria to qualify as an essential, frontline worker varies from state to state. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that roughly 30 million essential workers will be next in line for a shot. An additional 57 million essential workers will be vaccinated later. The lack of clear guidelines will significantly complicate the verification process as those workers seek shots. ADVERTISEMENT The United States has two authorized COVID-19 vaccines, one from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE and another from Moderna Inc. The vaccines are rolling out as hospitals reach peak capacity and deaths have exceeded 317,000. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security in March published a list of essential U.S. workers during the pandemic. [bit.ly/3aBDtFx](https://bit.ly/3aBDtFx) The list covers nearly 70% of the U.S. labor force and has provided little clarity to health officials trying to distribute initially limited doses of vaccines. Many states over the summer began developing their own priority lists, at times deferring to the importance of local industries. States generally have broad discretion when it comes to vaccine distribution. This has resulted in a patchwork of guidelines across the country, with companies complaining that their workers are considered essential in one state, but not in another. ADVERTISEMENT A panel of experts that advises the CDC on Sunday recommended that people 75 and older and workers including first responders, teachers, food and agriculture, manufacturing, U.S. Postal Service, public transit and grocery store workers should have the next priority for the vaccines. Some U.S. states have signaled they will nevertheless continue with the distribution plans they originally drafted. Michael Einhorn, the president of New York medical supply distributor Dealmed, criticized health officials’ decisions to prioritize essential workers for the next phase of the vaccine, rather than distributing it along age lines. “There will be people trying to cut the line and commit fraud to get a vaccine,” said Einhorn, whose company has been involved in flu shot distribution. ADVERTISEMENT ## HOW WILL ELIGIBILITY BE CONFIRMED FOR ESSENTIAL WORKERS? It is not clear yet how health departments and pharmacies will verify the identity of a significantly larger and more diverse group of people eligible for the next round of vaccines. Pharmacy operators CVS, Walgreens and Kroger Co each referred to state and local guidelines when asked how they would verify essential workers. “If the jurisdiction requests support from Walgreens, Walgreens will distribute a voucher or authorization form that the individual can use to schedule an appointment for a vaccination,” a Walgreens spokeswoman said in a statement. CVS said it would share more information once it got closer to the next phase of vaccine distribution in the first quarter of 2021. Kroger in a statement said it would require customers to make an online appointment and use a screening tool to manage the verification process. ADVERTISEMENT “In some instances, the state will identify and verify the individuals before they are referred to us for vaccination,” a Kroger spokeswoman said. States have not outlined how they will verify workers’ identities. A spokeswoman for North Carolina’s health department on Thursday said the state would rely on self-attestation and the “hope that people will respect that the prioritization is in place.” Companies pushing to have their workers vaccinated are exploring different options. The Consumer Brands Association, which represents food, beverage, personal care and household product companies, and the Food Industry Association, representing food retailers, said they were developing template letters for employees to verify their essential worker status. “We understand states may have different designation standards, but (we are) working to provide our members with a resource to help reduce confusion,” a spokeswoman for the Food Industry Association said in a statement. ---
**Author:** ![whizbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c5a1d2/32.png) [@whizbang](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/whizbang)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 3:22am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/195 "2020-12-26T03:22:12Z")
We mostly don’t live where we work, it’s going to be a hard sell to either state. “Oh this guy’s an unemployed bum/this guy should get it from his own state!” ---
**Author:** ![tugsailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@tugsailor](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/tugsailor)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/196 "2020-12-26T15:06:22Z")
Mariners need a federal advocate to help us get vaccinated. ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2021, 4:56pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/197 "2021-01-10T16:56:20Z")
The lost generation of good seafarers(??): > **[Shipmanagement 2021: Covid and the lost generation of quality crew - Splash247](https://splash247.com/shipmanagement-2021-covid-and-the-lost-generation-of-quality-crew/)** > > In the first of a two-part preview of shipmanagement priorities in 2021, the world’s top shipmanagers discuss crew welfare and the recruitment fallout from the pandemic. By common consent in the 50 years of third party shipmanagement 2020 was the... > **[‘An unwanted prison sentence’ for seafarers stuck at home and stranded at sea](https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/01/1081482)** > > Hundreds of thousands of seafarers have been on board for many months longer than planned, stranded at sea due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Six months after the problem was first revealed, many of them are still struggling to cope with the... PS\> I don’t know if there are any WANTED prison sentence. Well, maybe: ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/gcaptain_maritime_forum/original/3X/9/b/9b30e6736b385d51158f83c569a292b19f5bd2b7.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![whizbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c5a1d2/32.png) [@whizbang](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/whizbang)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 7:02pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/198 "2021-01-11T19:02:20Z")
Wow we’re way down the vaccine priority lists! Not so surprising, but I still say our communal living and lack of medical care are a risk factor. Especially the strokes and other clotting issues can be treated so well ashore now, to where the difference is stark. Edit: mostly I’m just grumpy at the poor overall handling ---
**Author:** ![DamnYankee](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/damnyankee/32/514_2.png) [@DamnYankee](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/DamnYankee)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 9:01pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/199 "2021-01-11T21:01:13Z")
I’ve got your seafarer recruiting solution right here: ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/gcaptain_maritime_forum/original/3X/4/a/4ae4601a81e3b4886dd1feda37cee83e154ca0a9.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 1:17pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/200 "2021-01-17T13:17:23Z")
Asian Shipping Organisation send Letter of Appreciation to the Singapore Government for their action on Crew change during Covid-19 pandemic: [https://www.xindemarinenews.com/en/market/2021/0115/26561.html](https://www.xindemarinenews.com/en/market/2021/0115/26561.html) ---
**Author:** ![freighterman1](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/freighterman1/32/11176_2.png) [@freighterman1](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/freighterman1)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 9:29pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/201 "2021-01-21T21:29:34Z")
The first group of our deck officers were vaccinated yesterday in Seattle by our medical consultation company. They’ll get the second dose 28 days later, after returning from their voyage. The second group is scheduled to get theirs before departure next week, and so on, depending on vaccine availability. The deck officers fit the medical providers clause of the Phase 1A CDC guidelines. In addition, any person over 65 can get the vaccine in Washington state regardless, but it’s not widely available yet. Back in March 2020, this company set ourselves the goal of zero infections in the workplace, whether at the terminal or at sea. None yet, and we might make that goal, but if we do it will be a photo finish. C19 is drawing closer. We had a mariner exposed during his off-time, at at a holiday gathering. Sure enough he came down with symptoms later, but not before calling us to warn us he had been exposed. A very responsible guy. He had been scheduled to sail just when he would have been coming down with symptoms. The rest of the crew falls into Phase 2 (workers in congregate settings),I believe. I would be surprised if they were immunized by this time next month, but who knows. The stakes are not as much life and death, as sizeable financial loss for the company, and so the employees. No state government, no terminal operator, wants a ship with C19 landing at their dock ---
**Author:** ![tugsailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@tugsailor](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/tugsailor)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 12:04am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/202 "2021-01-22T00:04:51Z")
Thank you for this very helpful post. I’m going to try to get vaccinated on the basis that I am a USCG certificated “Medical Care Provider” and the senior person in actual charge of medical care onboard ship. ---
**Author:** ![saltyseamen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@saltyseamen](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/saltyseamen)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 3:20am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618/203 "2021-01-22T03:20:45Z")
That is a really good strategy! Let us know how it goes. I think a lot of us would be interested in getting it, and many of these states are dragging their feet on opening it up to seafarers. [Previous page](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618.md?page=9) [Next page](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-maritime-news/54618.md?page=11)