Supermarket Workers Could Be Required to Get Hepatitis Vaccinations

LOS ANGELES -- Supermarket employees who handle raw or unprocessed foods may be among food-service workers and others who will be required to be vaccinated for hepatitis-A, pending a study ordered by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors here, according to a spokesman for the County Supervisor‘s office. Following the discovery last month that a catering company cook had been diagnosed with hepatitis-A -- potentially affecting 3,500 people who attended several events at which he worked -- the board has asked the Los Angeles Department of Public Health to submit a feasibility analysis within 30 days to determine the need and scope of a possible vaccination program for employees at restaurants, catering companies, wholesale producers and supermarkets. According to County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, "The public is vulnerable, [and] we need to ensure that those who are involved in the handling of food are safe and healthy." -- Elliot Zwiebach