Trade Groups Ask CDC Advisory Panel To Include Journalists In Early Stages Of Vaccine Deployment

Photo: CDC / Alissa Eckert, MSMI / Dan Higgins, MAMS

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS and the RADIO TELEVISION DIGITAL NEWS ASSOCIATION are among several news media organizations asking the committee advising the CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION to include journalists in the early phases of COVID-19 vaccine distribution. The groups argue in their letter to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices that journalists in the field reporting on the pandemic, including interviewing front-line workers and covering rallies, are at risk and should be among the early groups receiving vaccination.

“To continue providing these critical services, however, journalists cannot simply work from home, but must interact with government officials and the public to report on the stories that matter, regardless of the risks they must assume,” the letter reads. “Despite efforts to protect themselves and the public, members of the media are necessarily exposed to the COVID-19 virus while doing their jobs and serving as ‘first informers’ in local communities across the country.”

The signatories include the NAB, RTDNA, PBS, AMERICA'S PUBLIC TELEVISION STATIONS (APTS), the SOCIETY FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS, the NEWS MEDIA ALLIANCE, the NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION,  the NATONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACK JOURNALISTS, THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HISPANIC JOURNALISTS, ASIAN AMERICANS JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION, NATIVE AMERICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION (NAJA), NLGJA: THE ASSOCIATION OF LGBTQ JOURNALISTS, NATIONAL PRESS PHOTOGRAPHERS ASSOCIATION, and NEWS LEADERS ASSOCIATION.

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