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WASHINGTON -- House members may disagree on how well the COVID-19 pandemic is being handled, but they do seem to agree on one thing: workers in meatpacking and poultry processing plants should be given higher priority for vaccination than they are right now.
"It's becoming very clear through the entire COVID crisis that vaccines are the way out," said Rep. Andy Harris, MD (R-Md.), during a hearing on health and safety protections for meat, poultry, and agricultural workers held by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. "Given the data we have gotten in the last couple of weeks that it seems that a single shot of Pfizer or Moderna is almost as good as two shots -- and hopefully the FDA will revise the EUA [emergency use authorization] to allow that -- we could be freeing up 20 or 30 million doses in the next month, some of which could go to these workers. "