Nearly 700 dockworkers at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have contracted COVID-19 and hundreds more are taking virus-related leaves, raising concerns on the potential for a severe slowdown in the movement of goods through the region. Port executives, union leaders and elected officials are mounting an urgent campaign to initiate dockworker vaccinations, fearing that a labor shortage could force terminal shutdowns. In the first months of the pandemic, container volume at the Port of Los Angeles plunged nearly 19%, but in the second half of 2020 it rose nearly 50% causing significant backlog. In California, healthcare workers, first responders and residents and staff in skilled nursing facilities have been prioritized for vaccination. With about 450,000 individuals in those groups still to be vaccinated, other groups are not expected to take priority until early February. Port executives, union leaders and local elected officials want dockworkers to be eligible for vaccines after medical and other front-line workers.
