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A2 UP FRONT
Thursday 13 January 2022

US shoppers find some groceries scarce due to virus, weather

Continued from Front and they're able to navi- cron-related absences. Colorado, also have im- longer to get from point A
gate that baseline level of Worker illness is also impact- pacted product availabil- to point B."
A deficit of truck drivers challenges," said Jessica ing grocery stores. Stew Le- ity and caused some shop- Experts are divided on how
that started building before Dankert, vice president of onard Jr. is president and pers to stock up more than long grocery shopping will
the pandemic also remains supply chain at the Retail CEO of Stew Leonard's, a usual, exacerbating supply sometimes feel like a scav-
a problem. The American Industry Leaders Associa- supermarket chain that op- problems caused by the enger hunt.
Trucking Associations said tion, a trade group. erates stores in Connecti- pandemic. Dankert thinks this is a hic-
in October that the U.S. was Generally, the system cut, New York and New Lisa DeLima, a spokesper- cup, and the country will
short an estimated 80,000 works; Dankert notes that Jersey. Last week, 8% of his son for Mom's Organic soon settle back to more
drivers, a historic high. bare shelves have been a workers - around 200 peo- Market, an independent normal patterns, albeit with
And shipping remains de- rare phenomenon over the ple - were either out sick grocer with locations in the continuing supply chain
layed, impacting every- last 20 months. It's just that or in quarantine. Usually, mid-Atlantic region, said headaches and labor
thing from imported foods additional complications the level of absenteeism is the company's stores did shortages.
to packaging that is print- have stacked up on that more like 2%. not have produce to stock "You're not going to see
ed overseas. baseline at the moment, One store bakery had so last weekend because win- long-term outages of prod-
Retailers and food produc- she said. many people out sick that ter weather halted trucks ucts, just sporadic, isolated
ers have been adjusting to As it has with staffing at hos- it dropped some of its usu- trying to get from Pennsyl- incidents __ that window
those realities since early pitals, schools and offices, al items, like apple crumb vania to Washington. where it takes a minute for
2020, when panic buying the omicron variant has cake. Leonard says meat That bottleneck has since the supply chain to catch
at the start of the pandem- taken a toll on food pro- and produce suppliers been resolved, DeLima up," she said.
ic sent the industry into a duction lines. Sean Con- have told him they are also said. In her view, the inter- But others aren't so optimis-
tailspin. nolly, the president and dealing with omicron-relat- mittent dearth of certain tic.
Many retailers are keeping CEO of Conagra Brands, ed worker shortages. items shoppers see now are Freeman, of the Consumer
more supplies of things like which makes Birds Eye fro- Still, Leonard says he is gen- nothing compared to the Brands Association, says
toilet paper on hand, for zen vegetables, Slim Jim erally getting shipments on more chronic shortages at omicron-related disrup-
example, to avoid acute meat snacks and other time, and thinks the worst the beginning of the pan- tions could expand as the
shortages. products, told investors last of the pandemic may al- demic. variant grips the Midwest,
"All of the players in the sup- week that supplies from the ready be over. "People don't need to pan- where many big packaged
ply chain ecosystem have company's U.S. plants will Weather-related events, ic buy," she said. "There's food companies like Kel-
gotten to a point where be constrained for at least from snowstorms in the plenty of product to be logg Co. and General Mills
they have that playbook the next month due to omi- Northeast to wildfires in had. It's just taking a little Inc. have operations.q

Kids’ low COVID-19 vaccination rates

called a ‘gut punch’

up slowly since then, and ly when we've been work- to have slowed the pace
omicron's explosive spread ing so hard to keep these of vaccination in the U.S.,
appears to have had little kids well,'' said Dr. Natasha along with the busy holiday
effect. Burgert, a pediatrician in season. Still, many parents
The low rates are "very dis- Overland Park, Kansas. have other concerns.
turbing,'' said Dr. Robert The vaccines have proved Chicago mother Kendra
Murphy, executive director highly safe and effective at Shaw has resisted shots for
for the Institute for Global reducing the risk of severe her two school-age chil-
Health at Northwestern Uni- illness, hospitalization and dren, saying she worries
versity's Feinberg School of death. about possible risks and isn't
Associated Press Medicine. "It's just amaz- Overall, 63% of Ameri- convinced the benefits are
ing." cans are fully vaccinated. worth it.
By LINDSEY TANNER 17% were fully vaccinated, Parents who hesitate "are Among children 12 to 17, But this week, her 10-year-
AP Medical Writer more than two months af- taking an enormous risk the rate is 54%. old daughter pleaded to
Suspicion, misinformation, ter shots for the age group and continuing to fuel the COVID-19 shots for young get vaccinated so she
complacency and delays became available. While pandemic,'' Murphy said. children have been autho- wouldn't miss school, and
because of the holidays Vermont is at 48%, Califor- Hospitalizations of children rized in at least 12 countries. her soon-to-be 7-year-old
and bad weather have nia is just shy of 19% and under 18 with COVID-19 in In Canada, where Pfizer son asked for his shots so he
combined to produce Mississippi is only at 5%. the U.S. have climbed to shots were cleared for ages could have a big birthday
alarmingly low COVID-19 Vaccinations among the their highest levels on re- 5 to 11 in November, just 2% party.
vaccination rates in U.S. elementary school set cord in the past few weeks. are fully vaccinated. Shaw scheduled their first
children ages 5 to 11, au- surged after the shots were The low vaccination rates Snowstorms, tornadoes doses for Wednesday but
thorities say. introduced in the fall, but and rising hospitalizations and other heavy weather said: "I'm really on the
As of Tuesday, just over the numbers have crept are "a gut punch, especial- in December are believed fence.''q