Port Authority leadership urges prioritizing transit workers for covid-19 vaccine

Port Authority of Allegheny County leaders have asked Pennsylvania’s governor and Secretary of Health to prioritize transit workers when the covid-19 vaccine becomes available, according to a letter sent earlier this week.

The letter, addressed to Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, comes days after the Port Authority announced the deaths of two drivers from covid-19. State officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

“It is with both our workforce and riders in mind that we are writing to ask for your support and assistance by prioritizing transit workers in the distribution of the forthcoming covid-19 vaccine,” Port Authority CEO Katharine Kelleman wrote in a letter dated Monday.

Port Authority officials announced Monday that two drivers had died from the virus. Marlon Lucas, 57, died Sunday, two days after he tested positive for covid-19. He spent 22 years working for the Port Authority and left behind a wife and two children.

Patrick Hazlett, 34, died Monday morning after 10 days fighting the virus. He is survived by his wife and four children.

Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph said it is critical to prioritize public transportation employees when a vaccine is available.

“Our frontline employees are heroes and they must be protected,” he said. “Without them – without public transit – so many people across Western Pennsylvania would be without access to essential services, particularly now when they need it the most.”

Since the pandemic began, 194 Port Authority employees have tested positive for the virus – 127 came in November.

“Transit workers,” Kelleman wrote, “are part of the critical workforce, and the interests of public health and safety are best served when they can safely perform their essential jobs.”

Kelleman conceded in the letter that while studies have shown that public transportation “is not a vector for transmission of the virus,” a positive test among employees requires intense cleaning, disinfecting and quarantine precautions among other staff members. That, she said, has a cascading effect on staffing levels.

“During a time in which close contact with strangers is discouraged, thousands of riders across Allegheny County each day continue to utilize our service because it is in many respects their last – and in some cases only – option to grocery stores, hospitals, pharmacies and other essential services,” Kelleman wrote.

State officials have said they will take their cues from the federal government in terms of who will be among the first to receive the vaccine.