By , NEW YORK/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Companies and industry groups lobbying to get their U.S. workers to the front of the line for COVID vaccination are running into a patchwork of state plans and confusion over who is essential, and who is not.Inoculation against the disease caused by the novel coronavirus is key to safely reopening large parts of the economy and reducing the risks of illness at crowded meatpacking plants, factories and warehouses.But before one needle has entered the arm of an American worker, confusion has broken out over who exactly is considered essential during a...…By , NEW YORK/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Companies and industry groups lobbying to get their U.S. workers to the front of the line for COVID vaccination are running into a patchwork of state plans and confusion over who is essential, and who is not.Inoculation against the disease caused by the novel coronavirus is key to safely reopening large parts of the economy and reducing the risks of illness at crowded meatpacking plants, factories and warehouses.But before one needle has entered the arm of an American worker, confusion has broken out over who exactly is considered essential during a...WW…