With the nation under Level 3 COVID Alert, more folks are dining at home than ever, but that also means they''re more apt to go shopping for groceries. Grocery store clerks are inadvertently put in harm''s way in the fight against COVID. The Ministry of Economic Affairs is now proposing that store clerks in Northern Taiwan get priority in the government''s administering of COVID vaccines.

Lee Wen-ko
FTV reporter
Stores’ cashiers have to face customers directly, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs is now asking the central government to give these people working at the front lines priority to get vaccinated.

Once a transaction is completed, she immediately wipes the countertop with ethanol. Her hands have become chafed after numerous disinfections. A clerk like her may face upwards of 100 customers day. There’s no room to be lax. The economics ministry is now proposing that clerks working in hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores north of Hsinchu be vaccinated first. An estimated 50,000 people will meet the requirement.

Ms. Lin
Business operator
It’s really crowded in our store, and it’s really dangerous because you come in contact with a lot of people, and these are people from all walks of life.

With the nation still under Level 3 COVID Alert, people are eating at home. That means grocery stores are often filled with shoppers. Epidemic investigation has discovered that the places most visited by confirmed cases are hypermarkets and supermarkets, and this has put employees of these places on edge. Some business operators are now demanding that all store employees in the country be prioritized, rather than just those in Northern Taiwan.

Worthy of note is the different approaches between the U.S. and the U.K. when it comes to prioritizing groups for vaccination. According to U.S.’ Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, those working in health care and care home residents have the top priority. Then comes people 75 years and older, police officers and firefighters, postal workers, food factory workers, and supermarket employees. In contrast, the British Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization doesn’t make occupational distinctions after the frontline medical workers. Rather, it prioritizes by age group and people’s health conditions.

Chou Pai-chien
Taipei Medical University Hospital
The young and middle-aged groups only started to get vaccinated after the United States had an ample supply of vaccines. So for Taiwan, the key at present is the total amount of vaccines.

Voice of Chiang Kuan-yu
Taipei City Hospital Zhongxing Branch
I think this would depend on how the vaccines are being administered and the supply of the vaccine.

Though the nation is still under Level 3 Alert, with vaccines arriving from overseas, those working at the frontlines can now see a glimmer of hope when it comes to getting vaccinated against COVID.