Trump boasted in late November that the U.S. government was about to distribute coronavirus vaccines to the United States from “basic workers” such as health care, workers and the elderly. In the absence of any easing of the epidemic, the news made the American people talk about comfort.
But a recent Wall Street announcement made a number of American netizens angry. According to Market Watch on the 5th, the American Bankers Association (ABA), which represents community banks across the United States, has written to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asking that some financial service practitioners be classified as “basic workers” and skip the priority given to vaccination for most Americans.
Financial workers are on the same level as teachers and front-line workers? As soon as the news came out, American netizens objected to it. Some people in the financial industry revealed that most people in the industry are currently working from home, denouncing the decision as “absurd and selfish”.
According to the report, the American Bankers Association has designated a part of financial services practitioners as bank tellers and other customer-oriented bank employees.
Once this group is listed as a “basic worker,” it means they can get the coronavirus vaccine before most Americans, even older than 65 and adults with health problems, according to the coronavirus guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“From the very beginning of the pandemic, we have put the health and safety of our customers and employees first,” the American Bankers Association said in a statement. In our conversation with public health agencies, we argue that those who are in the bank’s staff who engage with the public on a daily basis, such as tellers, should be considered for inclusion in stage 1b of CDC vaccination, along with essential workers in other industries.”
According to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a medical expert, vaccine priority vaccination in the United States is divided into three stages:
First, vaccines should be distributed to front-line health care workers and nursing home residents (i.e. stage 1); then, to U.S. “basic workers”, such as firefighters, teachers and other front-line workers (i.e., stage 1b); seniors aged 65 and above, and adults with diseases, will be ranked third priority. (i.e. stage 1c).
The ACIP, though it is an independent group, has a strong influence within CDC and is often adopted, MarketWatch.
As soon as the report came out, American netizens were angry and left messages expressing their opposition to putting financial workers on the same level as teachers and front-line workers. Some industry insiders revealed that most people in the industry are currently working from home, denouncing the decision as “absurd and selfish”.
“Are we in the shithole? “Teachers, farm helpers, processing plant workers, grocers… I mean, businessmen should be the last, or second only to advertisers.”
“You mean traders who work from home and still make a lot of money, while our poor people are stuck on their way to and from work, risking their lives in the process?”
“All right. I am a licensed stockbroker working in a large company with more than 20,000 employees, and most of us are now working from home. This is a ridiculous and selfish question. How are the teachers, the kids and the grocery store staff?”
“This is not surprising. All the stock traders or investment bankers I have ever seen boast about themselves.”
“This is their only achievement. Excessively inflating the self-worth of the rich and buying politicians. They are modern mafia, but they do not provide services that the poor can benefit from.”
Entering autumn and winter, there is no sign of easing the coronavirus epidemic in the United States. Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned on the 2nd that the United States was facing a disastrous winter. He noted that December, January and February next year will be “the most difficult period in the history of public health in the United States”.
According to the real-time data of Johns Hopkins University in the United States, on December 6, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States reached 1,4542,103, with a total of 280,972 deaths. In the past 24 hours, there have been 230,610 new confirmed cases and 2,555 new deaths in the United States.
