Organization pushes for farm workers to get COVID-19 vaccine priority

(KION) The UFW Foundation said it is imperative farm workers are among the first to receive COVID-19 vaccines, once they become available.

UFW Foundation Executive Director Diana Tellefson Torres released a statement saying in part, "as farm workers on the frontlines of the novel coronavirus keep America fed even as they are infected with COVID-19 at alarming levels, it is imperative field laborers be among the first to receive COVID-19 vaccines. Farm workers must be prioritized and also have access to factual, scientific information about vaccines in the languages and indigenous dialects they speak."

Torres is part of California’s Community Vaccine Advisory Committee, which is tasked with helping to guide the state's decisions on vaccine distribution and allocation.

Farm workers have been picking, packing and plowing, since the start of the pandemic and harvesting food for the community. But it’s taken a toll on the workforce. Agriculture is the hardest hit industry in Monterey County.

Monterey County’s health department reported 20 new COVID-19 cases in the agriculture industry Wednesday for a total of 2,934 cases in the sector.

“The lines of the vegetable or whatever the crop is, it’s close one to another,” said United Farm Workers National Vice President Lauro Barajas. He's the regional director for the Central Coast's ag worker union.

Data shows the ag industry comprises about 20 percent of coronavirus cases in Monterey County.

Barajas with the United Farm Workers said there are a few reasons why these workers are so at risk: they travel together to work in buses or vans, they are in close proximity out in the fields and sometimes multiple families live in one house due to high cost of living.

Health officials say household transmission could be playing a role for ag workers as well.

“Because they’ve been working all along, they are at increased risk of exposure and can bring COVID-19 back into the home,” Monterey County Public Health Officer Dr. Edward Moreno said.

Now, the United Farm Worker’s sister organization, UFW Foundation, is pushing to get farm workers priority when a vaccine is available.

Barajas says it’s important for the field workers to have access.

“By doing this, I think it’s going to be a big relief,” Barajas said. “They went to work every single day and I think they deserve it.”

Who gets priority, once vaccines are available, is up to the state. They’ve created a committee to help to guide their decisions on vaccine distribution and allocation. The UFW Foundation’s Executive Director is part of that team.

County health officials say limited quantities of the vaccine could be available as early as mid December. Health care workers will likely be prioritized in that first round, but we’ll continue to follow this as the committee develops their distribution plan.