For one, it\u2019d be easier for her to do her job as she used to.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been more difficult than normal to be excited and generate these celebratory experiences for most people knowing that I could potentially be passing a disease to someone that I don\u2019t even know,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019ll bring me a sense of relief.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the end of January, Gov. Jared Polis expanded COVID-19 vaccine eligibility<\/a> and broke Phase 1B into three subcategories. Restaurant workers were added to Phase 1B.3<\/a> alongside grocery store workers, faith leaders, transit workers and people age 16 to 64 who have two or more high-risk conditions.<\/p>\n \u201cI was super excited, first of all,\u201d Kane said. \u201cBeyond that, I felt that it was appropriate. I\u2019m part of a group of people that has been required to work during periods of time in this pandemic where I know that I have not felt the most comfortable being in a restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n The excitement about the vaccine for service workers is even more palpable now that many, if not most, of the state\u2019s counties have moved to a less restrictive level on the state\u2019s color-coded dial. Restaurants are allowed to have bigger crowds now \u2013 capped at 50% or 150 people, whichever is fewer. Restaurants will also be allowed to stay open later.<\/p>\n \u201cIn order for people to feel safe going back into restaurants and employees feeling safe and actually being safe, having the vaccination a priority is going to be key to helping this industry recover,\u201d said Sonia Riggs, president and CEO of the Colorado Restaurant Association<\/a>. \u201cAbout 50% of restaurants have said to us at this time they\u2019re considering, within six months if things don\u2019t dramatically change, they\u2019re considering closing permanently.\u201d<\/p>\n Before the pandemic, restaurant workers made up about 10% of Colorado\u2019s workforce. Surveys from the Colorado Restaurant Association show about a 40% decrease in staffing levels, the association equates that to about 94,000 workers who have lost their jobs.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not yet clear when restaurant workers will be vaccinated.<\/p>\n As of Monday, teachers and 65-to 69-year-olds are eligible for vaccinations. The state said the timing for the next phase depends on vaccine quantities for which it does not have estimates yet, but they should know by mid-February. As for how restaurant workers will identify themselves, the state said it will rely on the honor system<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we found proof of widespread disregard of the prioritization, we would consider ceasing future supply to those providers,\u201d wrote a spokesperson for the Colorado Joint Information Center in an email. \u201cThat being said, we expect that some Coloradans will receive access outside of the prioritization in order to prevent waste of any doses and that is absolutely appropriate \u2013 an arm is better than no arm.\u201d<\/p>\n In the meantime, Kane wishes some patrons would cut service workers some slack. She and her colleagues don\u2019t enjoy having to ask people to keep their masks on or to follow other social distancing guidelines.<\/p>\n \u201cI always just wish that people had a little bit more empathy, recognizing that as a patron of a restaurant you\u2019re going there willingly,\u201d she said, \u201cwhereas all of us it\u2019s been a difficult decision basically choosing between unemployment and going into a restaurant where there are a lot of things that are out of our control.\u201d<\/p>\n