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In a push to broaden vaccine eligibility and speed up the timeline for inoculating Californians, food delivery drivers are now reportedly eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in Los Angeles County at the county-run MegaPODS, according to the L.A. County Public Health. This means that people who deliver food for companies like Postmates, Uber Eats, Grubhub, DoorDash, Instacart, and other dining delivery services can now make appointments.
It’s no secret that due to the coronavirus pandemic, food delivery companies grew immensely in popularity and revenue — it’s only fair that drivers and couriers be prioritized for the vaccine. Nearly 58% of all restaurant delivery sales in the U.S. are being made on these apps, and it’s expected to reach 70% by 2022. According to data cited by Second Measure, sales for meal delivery services grew 138% year-over-year, collectively, in Dec. 2020. By that time, 35% of U.S. consumers had already ordered from one of the services, up from 28% a year ago.
Per Second Measure’s data, DoorDash and its subsidiaries earned 52% of U.S. consumers’ meal delivery sales in Dec., and Uber Eats came in second place with 22%. Then came Grubhub and its subsidiaries at 18%. Being the fourth major U.S. meal delivery company, Postmates earned 7% of the U.S. meal delivery market in the same month. But when it comes to Los Angeles, as of Jan. 2021, Grubhub and Postmates — which is now owned by Uber— are tied as the most popular services in the area.
Speaking to Patch, L.A. Public Health reportedly said: “Workers supporting restaurant dining, table service, carryout, and quick-serve food operations, including food preparation, carryout, and delivery employees, can get vaccinated at county-run food and agriculture-only MegaPODS.” MegaPODs are massive vaccination sites. POD means Point Of Distribution.
“In addition to getting vaccinated at any public site,” the department also said that specific groups of people can make appointments to get vaccinated on specific days at county-run MegaPODs. For food and agriculture workers, those days are Tuesdays and Thursdays.
In addition to food workers, since Los Angeles entered Phase 1b last week, it will also be vaccinating agriculture workers, education and child care employees, and emergency services workers. According to the California Department of Public Health, about 5,960,528 Californians fall in this category.
Workers who are qualified to get vaccinated at the specific sites are being asked to bring the following items to prove they are eligible:
People can sign up to make an appointment here. New appointments at county-run locations are now available here. Moreover, many grocery store chains and other businesses are partnering with government agencies or private organizations to vaccinate employees on site.
For the second dose of the vaccine, people won’t need to bring all of the aforementioned documents. You’ll only need a photo ID and the white vaccine record card or electronic vaccine record.