Sep 9, 2021

New chance to vaccinate California farmworkers offered by NCAE

The National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) announced Sept. 9 that the council’s ongoing collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has resulted in another new opportunity to protect farmworkers from COVID-19.

“Earlier this year, NCAE members participated with the CDC in a pilot project to test H-2A workers for COVID and quarantine any infected workers in Mexico prior to transiting to their temporary jobs in the states,” Michael Marsh, National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) president and CEO, said in a news release. “This pilot project was successful in identifying not only a very low incidence of infection (1.3% based on preliminary data), but also an opportunity to collaborate to protect farmworker health and protect U.S. public health.”

Subsequently, the successful CDC/NCAE collaboration resulted in an opportunity to vaccinate farmworkers in San Diego County after entry for agricultural positions in the United States from Tijuana.  This latest opportunity capitalizes upon those prior positive outcomes and expands it.

Marsh stated that, “NCAE is partnering with the CDC and the National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH) to help facilitate free COVID-19 vaccinations. This facilitation includes resources, training, and technical assistance to support COVID-19 mitigation strategies and vaccination efforts among agricultural workers.”

Agricultural employers interested in participating in this opportunity should email NCAE’s Manager of Association Services Susan Lester at [email protected] or Matt Solberg, NCFH Partner Engagement Coordinator at [email protected] for details.

“The safety of essential farmworkers is of paramount importance to agricultural employers and NCAE is excited about this new opportunity to assist farm and ranch families in protecting the workers who feed and clothe us from the deadly COVID pandemic, while protecting public health at the same time,” said Marsh.

NCAE is the national trade association focusing on agricultural labor issues from the employer’s viewpoint.

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