Sacramento Restaurant Says Their Staff Was Turned Away From The Vaccine

Allora Italian Restaurant in East Sacramento has been up and running since the start of the pandemic.

When it was announced that food and agriculture workers were eligible to get COVID-19 vaccinated, staff members were excited to protect themselves from the virus.

However, Allora's co-owner Deneb Williams shared with CBS13 that when he and his employees went to their vaccine appointments, they were turned away.

"We are essential workers. We are feeding people who are in quarantine," Williams told CBS13. "A lot of them are in food insecure situations. Without us, they would not eat."

Once COVID-19 hit in the U.S., Williams started delivering tens of thousands of meals to schools and community centers in the area.

"We delivered to our church, The Table for 24 weeks straight all the while in closed confined quarters," said Williams.

Chef Lee Hingon told CBS13 he was informed that he wasn't eligible for the vaccine unless he could show proof he was a frontline, healthcare worker.

When CBS13 reached out to the Sacramento County Department of Public Health about the situation, they said food and agriculture workers are next in line.

"Due to the size of our worker populations in each Tier – Sacramento County has not begun to vaccinate this group (each county is at a different pace based on works, population, and allocation amounts),” said the spokesperson.

Photo: Getty Images