WASHINGTON, D.C. — A coalition of organizations and lobbying groups including the NAB have formally written to the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices with a plea that journalists providing “critical and essential functions in their communities” be included in early phases of COVID-19 vaccine deployment.
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With the NAB as a co-signee, the News Media Alliance (NMA), America’s Public Television Stations (APTS), the Asian Americans Journalists Association (AAJA), the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), the National Newspaper Association (NNA), the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA), the News Leaders Association (NLA), NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) and the Society for Professional Journalists (SPJ) all highlighted the risk to journalists who are in the field reporting about health care workers and patients, meeting with people in essential businesses, and covering rallies, protests and public events.
While the groups support prioritizing vaccines for front-line health care workers, first responders and others providing critical support, as well as the most at-risk populations, the “essential role of journalists and the risks they encounter as it develops subsequent phases of vaccine deployment” should be taken into account by the CDC advisory committee.
“To continue providing these critical services … journalists cannot simply work from home, but must interact with government officials and the public to report on the stories that matter, regardless of the risks they must assume,” reads the letter. “Despite efforts to protect themselves and the public, members of the media are necessarily exposed to the COVID-19 virus while doing their jobs and serving as ‘first informers’ in local communities across the country.”
