As President Joe Biden continues to ramp up the federal government’s coronavirus fighting efforts, numerous corporations and groups have reached out to offer their assistance in reaching the administration’s ambitious goal of administering 100 million COVID-19 vaccine shots in 100 days.

What You Need To Know

  • The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees is the latest organization to offer its assistance to the Biden administration's coronavirus vaccine effort 

  • On Monday, IATSE president Matthew Loeb penned a letter to Biden offering up the union's infrastructure and labor to help convert or build vaccine sites

  • Last week, Amazon offered its operations network and advanced technologies to assist President Joe Biden's vaccination effort 

  • Over 21 million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered across the country, according to CDC data

One such proposal came Monday, when the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) sent a letter to Biden’s administration offering to give the “White House COVID Response Team and FEMA our infrastructure and labor in the effort to build or convert vaccinations sites across the country.” 

The IATSE is the nation’s largest existing union that represents stagehands, certified riggers, and behind-the-scenes technicians employed in conference centers, arenas, theaters, and large event venues. With most live production cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, many of IATSE’s members have been out of work for months — but “they stand ready to do their part when they are called upon,” IATSE international president Matthew Loeb wrote in a statement. 

 

“IATSE workers throughout the country have been working alongside the Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA in arenas and convention centers for years, and in April we helped convert numerous facilities into field hospitals in response to the COVID-19 crisis,” Loeb continued. “The skills required to convert these facilities are not much different than those required to load in rock and roll concerts and other live events.”

Indeed, a number of union members have experience in building makeshift centers for COVID-10 patients. In April, a group of entertainment stagehands used their experience building Hollywood sets to construct a temporary hospital in Philadelphia’s Liacouras Center. Their ability to set up lighting, individual power drops and direct-delivery oxygen lines is a testament to union members’ ability to employ their knowledge “setting up large volumes of equipment for touring shows in under 12 hours” in hospital settings, Loeb said at the time. 

“Working with the field hospital installations designed by the Army Corps of Engineers, the IATSE and its contractors can typically pre-install the rigging, lights, and electric, quickly and efficiently,” Loeb wrote in his letter to President Biden, adding: “Together, we have a unique opportunity not only to help beat this virus and save lives, but also to get these skilled union technicians back to work. Let’s build back better, together.”

Loeb noted that the union has already developed pre-designed rigs to accommodate different sizes of venues; the IATSE can also sanitize and shrink-wrap all equipment prior to delivery.

The IATSE is hardly the first organization to offer its assistance to the Biden administration. 

In a letter penned to Biden on the day of his inauguration, Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO Dave Clark said the company is “committed to assisting your administration's vaccination efforts,” while also stressing the need to protect Amazon employees who are susceptible to catching COVID-19. 

“We have an agreement in place with a licensed third-party occupational health care provider to administer vaccines on-site at our Amazon facilities,” Clark wrote in the letter. “We are prepared to move quickly once vaccines are available.” 

“Additionally, we are prepared to leverage our operations, information technology, and communications capabilities and expertise to assist your administration's vaccination efforts,” he added. “Our scale allows us to make a meaningful impact immediately in the fight against COVID-19, and we stand ready to assist you in this effort.” 

Clark argued that many Amazon employees are “essential workers who can’t work from home,” having to process orders in-person at fulfillment centers, deliver packages, and work at Whole Foods markets across the country. As such, Clark said, a decent amount of Amazon’s 800,000-plus workers should receive a coronavirus vaccine “at the earliest appropriate time.” 

“We will assist them in that effort,” Clark added. 

It is unclear whether the administration will accept either offer for assistance. The White House did not respond to Spectrum News’ request for comment on Amazon’s proposal. 

Over 21 million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered across the country, making up a little over half of the 41 million doses shipped out to states, according to the CDC.