MSHA piloting vaccine outreach program

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety & Health Administration is piloting a program aimed at vaccinating American mine workers in Kentucky and Arizona. Photo: Meyer & Meyer / iStock / Getty Images Plus

The U.S. Department of Labor introduced a new program aimed at vaccinating American miners.

The department’s Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) will pilot the Mine Vaccine Outreach Program to deliver free vaccinations and provide education on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines to mining communities in Kentucky and Arizona. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) reports that vaccination rates are below 60 percent in the two states, where a substantial number of mining operations exist.

Participation in the Mine Vaccine Outreach Program is voluntary and free for mine operators in the two states. Program representatives will collaborate with the states’ mine operators to find convenient locations, coordinate with health professionals to administer vaccine services and develop communication programs to address the community’s questions and concerns.

“The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety & Health Administration exists to protect the safety and health of the nation’s miners from hazards in their workplaces,” says Jeannette Galanis, acting assistant secretary of labor for mine safety. “COVID-19 has killed more than 860,000 people in the U.S. along and, like many other mining hazards, it demands we take action to prevent workers from suffering needlessly. Providing free COVID-19 vaccinations is a natural extension of our efforts to ensure safe workplaces.”

MSHA selected Jazz Solutions, an Ashburn, Virginia, IT solutions provider for federal, state and local government, to administer the program.