The early days of the pandemic were challenging for truck drivers. As other workers were told to stay home, truckers kept going, delivering food, clothing and cleaning supplies for stores and hospitals throughout the country. On the road for days or weeks at a time, many were fearful of bringing the virus back to their families, and the temporary closures of rest stops left them uncertain whether they’d find a safe place to use the bathroom or sleep. Meanwhile, priority access for the vaccine never came, and the hundreds of thousands of truckers of Punjabi Sikh descent—who control as much as 40 percent of California’s trucking industry, according to the North American Punjabi Trucking Association—feel left behind by public health agencies that haven’t provided them with up-to-date public health information in their native language of Punjabi. This week’s 2-part COVID update shares the experiences of truckers early on in the pandemic, as well as some specific concerns from Punjabi Sikh
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