ROC Philly, Jefferson giving away free flu shots to restaurant workers
Advocacy group the Restaurant Opportunity Center of Philadelphia is partnering with Thomas Jefferson University’s Center for Urban Health to on Tuesday offer restaurant workers free flu shots.
Center City’s Restaurant Week, which started today, this year falls in the middle of what the Center for Disease Control is calling “the worst flu epidemic in a decade.” The CDC has recommended that those with flu-like symptoms stay home and avoid contact with others, except to seek medical care.
But 95 percent of Philadelphia’s restaurant workers are unable to earn paid sick time, forcing them to work while they are ill, according to the ROC. In fact, per an Oct. 2012 study, nearly 75 percent of industry workers reported working while sick because they couldn’t afford to miss a day’s pay or because they feared being fired.
Those who wish to receive a shot, which are being administered from noon to 4 p.m. at Jefferson’s Center for Urban Health, 211 S. 9th Street, Suite 313, are asked to register by emailing sheila@rocunited.org, or by calling 215-867-9747.
