Vaccine Available to Restaurant Employees – Statement from WRA Chair

On Friday, March 12 the State of Wisconsin announced that restaurant employers across the state became eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This is wonderful news for our industry! It allows our employees to receive the vaccine and feel more comfortable coming to work and also reaffirms to the dining public that dining out is safe.

Upon hearing this news Friday, I went online and was quickly able to find a community-based clinic offering the vaccine. It was easy to schedule online for a Saturday morning appointment. I arrived at the clinic and filled out the paperwork in minutes. With a short wait, I was led into the vaccine room and received my first dose of theModerna vaccine. The whole process took less than 45 minutes even though the clinic was very busy and about 50 people were ahead of me in line. I was able to schedule my follow up vaccination for a month from now. The only side effect I experienced was a little soreness at the injection site and that has already gone away two days later.

I urge all our members and their staff to consider getting the vaccine as soon as possible. The sooner we can get our employees vaccinated and Wisconsin residents vaccinated, the quicker we can return to normal. This will certainly go a long way to consumer confidence as well making members of the dining public more comfortable dining in with us.
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Chris Wiken
The Packing House Restaurant
Milwaukee
WRA Chair of the Board

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