March 15, 2021
At the City Mission of Schenectady, Executive Director Mike Saccocio has a saying: “Volunteers are not the icing on the cake, they are the cake.”
So the state’s announcement that nonprofit workers and volunteers will now be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday is “very good news.”
“Before the pandemic, we were averaging 700 hours a week for volunteers,” Saccocio said. “That had to literally stop. It’s been a real struggle.”
When the vaccination expansion starts, all so-called “public-facing” employees will be eligible for the vaccination. In addition to nonprofit workers, government and public employees will also be eligible. So too will building workers such as custodians, security officers and porters. They join the list of people 60 and older as well as those with comorbidities.
