Farmworker vaccinations “exploding out of the gate” in Monterey County

As Central California vegetable growers wait for harvest to increase seasonally, the biggest issue at hand is getting their workers vaccinated as they enter year two of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our primary focus right now is exploding out of the gate to do as many vaccination events as we can, targeting food and agriculture sector workers,” said Christopher Valadez, president of the Salinas-based Grower-Shipper Association of Central California.

March 3 was the first day in Monterey County that all farmworkers, regardless of age, were eligible for the vaccine, Valadez said. Farmworkers over 65 had been eligible in late February. 

However, California’s vaccine rules vary from county to county, and Monterey County’s green light for all farmworkers regardless of age was about five or six weeks later than Yuma, Ariz., and California’s Coachella Valley growing areas, Valadez said.

Valadez said the association, in conjunction with a local federally qualified health clinic, planned to hold a “large scale vaccination event” March 6 for an expected close to 3,000 farmworkers.

“I think it might be the largest of its kind anywhere in the state, let alone the nation, that is exclusively focused on farmworkers,” he said. More than catching up with other counties, Valadez wants farmworker vaccines in Monterey County to quickly reach its many thousand workers.

“We are really focusing on trying to create a level of enhanced health protectiveness for the employees by getting them vaccinated in blocks,” he said. 

Employers are working with the association and the health clinic to survey their employees and register them to get vaccinated, and that has been happening at a pace of 25 to 200 workers per company.

There is uncertainty about how soon the county can reach a “herd immunity” threshold, he said. That may be close to 70% to 80% of a population in a region.

In Monterey County, farmworkers may be number a minimum of about 60,000 out of a county of 460,000.

There may be another 60,000 who have jobs connected to agriculture.

The good news is that people connected to the agriculture community should soon be vaccinated.

“The ag sector has a program to really start making big advances through that group on a weekly basis,” he said. 

With about 3,000 expected to vaccinated at the March 6 event, Valadez said the pace of vaccinations will aim to hit 5,000 or more per week.

Vaccinations will be prioritized around those who are at the highest risk, including those who may be coming to the area as harvest gears up and will live in group conditions.

Growers are dealing with extra costs related to social distancing provisions and other protection measures against the virus, with no direct support for those costs from the market.

“There’s a lot of things we could do to try to chase all the fires that are being set,” he said, referring to all the complications of dealing with COVID-19.

“I don’t think we’re ever going to catch them or catch up to them; what we have to try to do is go to the source of the fire, the source of what is causing the heat — the virus,” he said. 

“Almost 100% of our association’s efforts and work with our employer members is to help them prioritize and move their folks into the vaccination program, so we can help them vaccinate as many employees as possible.” 

While no silver bullet, Valadez said vaccinations are the biggest tool in the arsenal right now to reduce both infections and/or severity of the disease.