Hotel Association Offers to Help Distribute COVID-19 Vaccines Nationwide
Now that COVID-19 vaccines have arrived on the scene, everyone is eager to see their distribution expand and accelerate across America. As rollout efforts ramp up, major private venues, such as Disneyland in California and various large sports stadiums, are stepping up to serve as vaccination centers for area residents.
In a letter sent to the incoming Biden administration, Chip Rogers, President and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), said that the nation’s hotels are also able and willing to aid in the vaccine distribution effort.
In a letter obtained by Fox News, Rogers explained to President-elect Joe Biden’s appointed COVID-19 Response Team coordinator, Jeffrey Zients, that hotels nationwide stand ready to assist state governors in getting vaccines dispensed and administered to their communities.
“Hotels have existing infrastructure and operational capabilities to serve as vaccine administration sites and capacity to assist,” Rogers said. “The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), under its ‘Hospitality for Hope’ initiative, has the infrastructure in place to support public health agencies and private sector partners through a network of more than 20,000 hotels,” that might easily serve as vaccination sites.
Rogers pointed out that America’s vast hotel network has the geographic reach to facilitate widespread distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, with over 50,000 hotels present in every state, with locations varying among cities, suburbs and rural areas. With hotels currently operating at less than half capacity, there is plenty of space that’s going unused.
On top of which, hotels’ existing infrastructure includes private rooms, meeting rooms, conference halls, ballrooms and outdoor areas that could easily be converted to suit the purpose, and the unique ability to operate 24/7. Hotels also already practicing CDC-based cleanliness and sanitization protocols in accordance with the industry-wide ‘Stay Safe’ program, as well as the staff needed to consistently carry out these functions.
Hotels can also meet one very important requirement by having existing temperature-controlled areas, specifically large refrigeration units usually used for food service since approved COVID-19 vaccines need to be stored at certain low temperatures.
Rear Adm. (retired) Louis Tripoli, M.D., Former command surgeon US Pacific Command, lent his support to the AHLA’s proposal, saying: “Administering the vaccine on a national scale and of this magnitude is a significant undertaking, and hotels bring a unique set of infrastructural and operational capabilities to serve as vaccine administration sites that public health agencies should seriously consider utilizing. With a substantial network of properties across the country with excess capacity right now, due to the drop in travel demand, hotels could be a major asset in helping administer the vaccine safely and more conveniently to the American public.”
“As an industry, we have always stepped up to help our neighbors and communities in a time of need, including early-on in the pandemic through Hospitality for Hope,” Rogers concluded. “The industry looks forward to continuing this work in partnership with the public and private sector to support this next phase of recovery.”