FILE – In this Jan. 12, 2016, file photo, a ride share car displays Lyft and Uber stickers on its front windshield in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 8:46 AM PT – Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Ride hailing companies are urging the federal government to allow early coronavirus vaccine access for their drivers. Uber and Lyft are asking the government for vaccine access due to their drivers status as essential workers.
Additionally, both companies said they will provide users with free rides to their vaccination appointments in exchange for priority status for drivers who wish to be inoculated.
We’re partnering with @Moderna_tx to make sure you have credible information about COVID-19 vaccines as well as a reliable ride when it’s time to get yours.
Learn more → https://t.co/26mfIx0vgS pic.twitter.com/Gj3Mx8AD0H
— Uber (@Uber) January 14, 2021
Uber’s chief legal officer, Tony West, said the Uber platform can be used to encourage the widespread adoption of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“You know it’s something that we’ve been advocating for awhile now that drivers and couriers that have been on the frontlines, we wanted them to be able to receive kind of priority so that they and their families can be protested,” he explained. “And we were pleased to see over the weekend, the CDC recommended that drivers and carriers be treated as essential workers and have access to the vaccine behind health care workers and elderly individuals.”
Lyft executives reportedly met with Joe Biden to request the new administration allocate federal funding to cover the cost of the rides.
Making sure people can get to vaccination sites when they need to is mission-critical to beating this virus. Read more: https://t.co/Rfnpv2OE7Q pic.twitter.com/RiJvkVLEs1
— Lyft (@lyft) December 22, 2020
