CHICAGO (Reuters) - COVID-19 vaccines are making their way into the arms of U.S. meat and agriculture workers, but companies and union officials say progress needs to be faster after coronavirus outbreaks idled slaughterhouses and sickened thousands of workers.
Vaccinating food workers could help prevent further production disruptions that sent meat prices soaring in spring 2020 and forced retailers like Kroger Co to restrict customers’ purchases of ground beef and other products.
Nationwide, 22,000 meatpacking workers have been infected or exposed to the virus, and 132 have died, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International union.
A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) committee in December recommended frontline food and agriculture workers receive access to vaccines ahead of people aged 65 to 74 and younger Americans with high-risk medical conditions.
But many states prioritized older residents, who account for the majority of U.S. COVID-19 fatalities, and other essential workers like teachers.
Companies are constrained by limited supplies and regulations in individual states and cannot purchase vaccines directly from drugmakers.
“Priorities have shifted in the past two months in a range of states, and that has lowered the priority status of our critical and essential employees,” said Keira Lombardo, chief administrative officer for Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor.
South Dakota, where WH Group’s Smithfield runs a massive pork plant in Sioux Falls, may not begin vaccinating food and agriculture workers until April, according to state plans. It will first give shots to teachers, funeral home workers and people under 65 with underlying health conditions. ...
