Governor Jared Polis has described frontline essential workers as "an environment where they have no other alternative than to go into work." (CPR 2/4/21) And although beauty professionals and personal service workers fit this description, they have been left off the list for vaccine distribution, and neither the Governor nor the Health Dept have been willing to respond to their requests.

Personal services were closed on March 19, 2020 because the state recognized their potential health risk to the community. However, they have been working directly with the public since they were sent back to work on May 9, 2020 - among the first sectors to reopen, due to very high public demand. Once they were able to reopen, they were no longer eligible for pandemic unemployment relief. Unlike many public facing professions, beauty workers are required to touch clients and cannot social distance from them. They work on multiple people each day, often for several hours at a time, in direct face-to-face contact.  

Personal service workers should be vaccinated not only for their safety, but for the public's safety as well. Covid can spread without symptoms, and the close proximity between professional and client creates higher risk of transmission than many other public facing professions. There are over 60,000 licensed beauty professionals in the state of colorado, many of whom see 5-10 clients per day, or more. That gives stylists, salons, and spas high potential to spread Covid throughout the community. 

These industries recognize that they do not provide food, shelter, or healthcare, and are therefore not considered essential by some. However, they service people in every sector of the community - from ER nurses, to teachers, the elderly, the immunocompromised, and many many others. Many of the people they come in contact with have the potential to be either infectious or highly vulnerable. They seek to protect themselves, their families, their guests and communities through vaccination. But they also understand there are those who may require higher vaccination priority, which is why they have requested phase 1.B.4, alongside restaurant workers with similar exposure.

These shops and workers have sacrificed an enormous amount to this pandemic and they risk their health each and every day to care for their guests. The public has made it clear they expect to receive these services during covid, so help to keep them and the community safe by giving them a place on the vaccination list alongside other essential workers exposed.