President Trump and candidate Biden should establish and implement a nationwide plan for the distribution of approved coronavirus vaccines, the Associated General Contractors of America advised today in a letter to the two presidential candidates (Trump and Biden). Establishing such a nationwide plan will help avoid the confusion, delays and potential economic hardships that would result from delegating all responsibility to state and local officials.
“A thoughtful and comprehensive plan to rollout the ultimately approved vaccine for the coronavirus will ensure that the construction industry can continue to provide support for other critical sectors of the economy,” wrote Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive office, in the letters to the two candidates. “There is the real potential that conflicting and confusing priorities at the state and local level will undermine the distribution process.”
Sandherr noted that one of the clear lessons to come out of the early response to the pandemic was that the distribution of essential medical supplies should not be completely delegated to the states. He noted that many of the association’s member firms struggled to locate essential personal protective equipment as states competed against each other to stockpile items like masks, hand sanitizers and gloves.
He cautioned that delegating all responsibility for the distribution of vaccines to the states would create similar problems. Instead, he urged federal officials to establish and implement a single federal plan for nationwide distribution of vaccines, just as it established and implemented a federal plan for their development. Such a nationwide plan would limit the risk of voluminous and conflicting guidelines at the state and local levels, Sandherr added.
The federal plan should also prioritize the rational distribution of vaccines, based on risk and need, to ensure that vaccinations are distributed to the same groups, in the same order, throughout the country. He suggested that the plan should begin with vulnerable populations, followed by essential workers who are at the greatest risk of infection, including first responders and health care workers. Construction workers should merit priority over other essential workers who have the option of working remotely, he added.
Sandherr also said a nationwide plan will mitigate the risk of public officials demanding that essential services like construction shut down until the vaccines are widely distributed. He noted that such shutdowns would inflict additional, needless, hardships on workers and their families. And the shutdowns would be in complete disregard of the widespread safety protocols that have been put in place to allow essential economic activities, like construction, to continue safely during the pandemic.
“The federal government and the private sector have gone to great lengths to facilitate the development of multiple vaccine candidates that will, hopefully, soon be approved and made available,” Sandherr noted. “The tremendous potential for this hard work and innovation to turn the country around will not, however, be realized if the subsequent distribution of vaccines is wholly delegated to state and local governments.”
Related Stories
Market Data | Mar 6, 2019
Global hotel construction pipeline hits record high at 2018 year-end
There are a record-high 6,352 hotel projects and 1.17 million rooms currently under construction worldwide.
Market Data | Feb 28, 2019
U.S. economic growth softens in final quarter of 2018
Year-over-year GDP growth was 3.1%, while average growth for 2018 was 2.9%.
Market Data | Feb 20, 2019
Strong start to 2019 for architecture billings
“The government shutdown affected architecture firms, but doesn’t appear to have created a slowdown in the profession,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, PhD, in the latest ABI report.
Market Data | Feb 19, 2019
ABC Construction Backlog Indicator steady in Q4 2018
CBI reached a record high of 9.9 months in the second quarter of 2018 and averaged about 9.1 months throughout all four quarters of last year.
Market Data | Feb 14, 2019
U.S. Green Building Council announces top 10 countries and regions for LEED green building
The list ranks countries and regions in terms of cumulative LEED-certified gross square meters as of December 31, 2018.
Market Data | Feb 13, 2019
Increasingly tech-enabled construction industry powers forward despite volatility
Construction industry momentum to carry through first half of 2019.
Market Data | Feb 4, 2019
U.S. Green Building Council announces annual Top 10 States for LEED Green Building in 2018
Illinois takes the top spot as USGBC defines the next generation of green building with LEED v4.1.
Market Data | Feb 4, 2019
Nonresidential construction spending dips in November
Total nonresidential spending stood at $751.5 billion on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate.
Market Data | Feb 1, 2019
The year-end U.S. hotel construction pipeline continues steady growth trend
Project counts in the early planning stage continue to rise reaching an all-time high of 1,723 projects/199,326 rooms.
Market Data | Feb 1, 2019
Construction spending is projected to increase by more than 11% through 2022
FMI’s annual outlook also expects the industry’s frantic M&A activity to be leavened by caution going forward.