US to prioritise poultry workers for coronavirus vaccine

The Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) advisory committee on immunization priority (ACIP) has agreed to provide Covid-19 vaccination to the meat and poultry workers on priority after health care workers and those in long-term care facilities.

CDC’s federal guidance has been welcomed by the North American Meat Institute, a non-profit, industry trade association.

The association has urged the state governments to follow CDC’s decision.

Meat Institute president and CEO Julie Anna Potts said: “Priority access to vaccines is a critical step for the long-term safety of the selfless frontline meat and poultry workers who have kept America’s refrigerators full and our farm economy working.

“Meat Institute members stand ready to support vaccination for our diverse workforce, which will also deliver wide-ranging health benefits in rural and high-risk communities.

“Meat and poultry leaders may also be able to aid vaccination for all Americans, for example by offering state-of-the-art cold storage for these precious vaccines.”

According to the association, $1.5bn in Covid-19 preventions and supports were implemented since the beginning of the pandemic and helped in reversing Covid-19’s impact on meat and poultry workers.

Members of the Meat Institute are said to have distributed personal protective equipment to meat and poultry workers, modified facilities, conducted testing as well as implemented health and temperature screening along with other measures.

As a result of these efforts, the association said that it was able to minimise Covi-19 infection rates among workers to more than eight times lower than in the general population.

In addition to the Meat Institute, the decision has been welcomed by the leaders across industry, unions, civil rights organisations.