Restaurant Worker Vaccine Eligibility and Dining Room Reopenings by State

Nationwide distribution of the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is trending positively and, with a third vaccine by Johnson and Johnson recently approved by the FDA, President Joe Biden projects that all adults could be eligible for vaccination by the end of May. With the rate coronavirus-related deaths and hospitalizations dropping, several states — including New York and California — have responded by reopening in varying capacities. But this, as it was the last time and the time before that, goes against the advice of experts.

The vaccine rollout hasn’t been without major disruptions, such as limited appointments and widespread confusion about eligibility since the rules changes state by state, and sometimes even county by county. For example, restaurant workers are vaccine-eligible in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Kansas, Nebraska, and New York; they can get vaccinated in Philadelphia, but not the rest of Pennsylvania. In Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott has announced a plan to end statewide mask mandates and re-open everything at 100 percent capacity on March 10, restaurant workers are not yet eligible and don’t know when they will be.

In most of the country, the percentage of the population that’s received the first round of vaccinations is still in the teens. States, territories and sovereign nations with over 20 percent of the population partially vaccinated are mostly those with low populations, such as Palau, American Samoa, and Alaska. Meanwhile, we must contend with newly emerged COVID variants, which is all to say that despite making progress, we’re not out of the woods yet. Until the majority of the population, or — at the very least — public-facing workers like servers and cashiers, are vaccinated, everyone should still be taking extreme precautions, like wearing masks and limiting exposure to people outside one’s household.

We’ll continue to update with the latest from the Eater city sites on re-openings and restaurant worker vaccine eligibility:

California

• Mayor Garcetti Says LA ‘On the Verge’ of Return to Indoor Dining This Month [Eater LA]
• What Documents Do LA Restaurant Workers Need to Show to Get the Vaccine? [Eater LA]
• San Francisco Officially Reopens Indoor Dining [Eater SF]

D.C.

• D.C. Restaurant Workers Are Now Eligible to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine [Eater Washington D.C.]

Georgia

• Governor Eases Restrictions for Bars as Vaccine Eligibility Opens to More Georgians [Eater Atlanta]

Illinois

• Chicago Eases COVID-19 Indoor Dining Restrictions [Eater Chicago]
• Chicago Restaurants Workers on Target For March COVID-19 Vaccinations [Eater Chicago]

Louisiana

• Louisiana Expands Vaccine Eligibility to Restaurant Employees and Food Service Workers [Eater New Orleans]
• Louisiana Governor Allows Bars to Open Statewide, Eases Indoor Dining Restrictions [Eater New Orleans]
• New Orleans Won’t Loosen Bar and Restaurant Restrictions With the Rest of Louisiana [Eater New Orleans]

Massachusetts

• Massachusetts Restaurant Workers Can Get the COVID-19 Vaccine on March 22 [Eater Boston]
• What Are Massachusetts’s COVID-19 Rules for Restaurants and Bars Right Now? [Eater Boston]
• Outdoor Dining Will Return to Boston on April 1 [Eater Boston]

Michigan

• Mark the Date: Vaccine Eligibility Expands to Most Michigan Residents on April 5 [Eater Detroit]
• Michigan Restaurants and Bars Can Increase Indoor Dining Capacity Starting March 5 [Eater Detroit]
• Detroit Grocery Workers and Restaurant Employees Are Now Eligible For the COVID-19 Vaccine [Eater Detroit]

Minnesota

• Minnesota Aims to Vaccinate Food Service Workers in Late Spring [Eater Twin Cities]

Nevada

• Nevada Restaurants and Bars Can Increase Capacity to 35 Percent Starting on February 15 [Eater Vegas]
• Nevada Gaming Regulators Prepare for Casino Employees to Get the COVID-19 Vaccination, But Restaurant Workers Still Aren’t Eligible [Eater Vegas]

New York

• It’s Time for NY Gov. Cuomo to Follow de Blasio’s Lead on Indoor Dining Regulations [Eater NY]

Oregon

• Oregon Restaurant and Bar Workers Finally Have an Approximate Vaccination Date [Eater Portland]

Pennsylvania

• Philly Restaurants Can Double Indoor Seating — But There’s a Catch [Eater Philly]

Tennessee

• Curfew Extends to 1 a.m. for Nashville Restaurants and Bars Serving Alcohol [Eater Nashville]

Texas

• Texas Restaurant Workers Will Become Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccines This Month [Eater Houston]
• Texas Governor Lifts Statewide Restaurant Indoor Dining Capacity Limits and Mask Mandate [Eater Austin]
• A Running List of the Dallas-Fort Worth Restaurants That Will Continue to Require Masks [Eater Dallas]
• Gov. Greg Abbott’s Decision to Fully Reopen Restaurants Puts Service Industry Workers at Even More Risk [Eater Dallas]
• A Slew of Houston Restaurants Plan to Continue Mask Requirements, Capacity Limits [Eater Houston]

Washington

• What Washington’s New Pause on Restriction Rollbacks Means for Seattle Restaurants [Eater Seattle]

International:

• What Reopening Means for London’s Restaurants [Eater London]
• Reopening Montreal Restaurants Isn’t Part of Legault’s Spring Break Plans [Eater Montreal]