Reuters reports that Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork processor, is actively preparing for Covid-19 vaccine distribution to employees at its US plants.
Meatpacking workers were among the groups hit hardest by the new coronavirus last year, as US slaughterhouses became hot spots for outbreaks, helping spread the virus around rural America.
Smithfield, owned by China’s WH Group, is one of the first companies in the United States to say it is preparing to vaccinate workers, although it declined to provide details on its plans and said circumstances vary by state.
In Missouri, where Smithfield owns meat plants and hog farms, state officials encouraged the company’s moves.
“We are fully supportive and appreciative that employers like Smithfield are looking ahead and are actively engaged now, making plans to protect their employees through vaccination when their turn comes,” the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services said.
The Washington-based Migration Policy Institute estimates that 10% of U.S. meatpacking workers are unauthorieed immigrants, a potential barrier to getting medical care in some states. Smithfield said it does not employ undocumented immigrants and that all of its workers will be eligible to receive vaccines.
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