Mass vaccination clinic seeks to vaccinate farmworkers

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) A mass vaccination clinic seeking to vaccinate farmworkers is being held at the Salinas Rodeo Grounds.

Clinica de Salud and the Grower shipper Association partnered up to administer around 3,000 doses for farmworkers on Saturday.

Before March 3rd, the county was restricted to only vaccinate farmworkers 65 and over but now efforts are underway to make the vaccine more available to vaccinate farmworkers.

"We're attempting to program approximately every weekend to hold at least one super vaccination event for the ag sector employees," says Chris Valadez, President of the Grower-Shipper Association.

As essential workers, ag workers continued to tend to the fields since the pandemic began. Chris Valadez, President of the Grower Shipper Association feels that hard work must be rewarded.

"We ask so much of the sector particularly of the employee base to be frontline individuals to work five, six days a week to ensure that we have food continuity yet at the same time, we have to reciprocate the types of resources and focus to ensuring that we're placing their health at the front of the line," says Valadez.

Field worker, Hector Aispuro, believes that the vaccine is the only to get back to normal.

"For starters, I feel good because this is the only way to try to get back to the way things were in the past. Either way, we still have to take care of ourselves but now confident that this vaccine will get us ahead,"

The CEO of Clinica de Salud estimates there are about 54,000 to 90,000 farmworkers that need to be vaccinated which could take until June or July.

Luis Alejo, the Monterey County Supervisor for District 1, attended the event and shared pictures of the turnout, which can be seen here.