COVID pandemic highlights need for California to invest in farmworker health

The Central Valley is home to hundreds of thousands of rural, immigrant farmworkers. Like all essential workers during this pandemic, our farmworkers have weathered the dangers of infection while supplying our nation’s kitchen tables with fruits, nuts and vegetables. Recent evidence suggests that agricultural work ranks among the deadliest occupations of the pandemic, increasing the risk of death by upwards of 40%.

In late January, the California Department of Public Health reaffirmed its commitment to our farmworkers — regardless of immigration status — by including agricultural work in Phase 1B of its vaccine allocation guidelines. Although several of California’s 58 counties have since transitioned to Phase 1B, there is still a shortage of vaccine doses to meet demand.

This is expected to change now that Blue Shield of California, one of the state’s largest health insurers, has taken the lead on California’s vaccine distribution efforts. In addition to ramping up vaccination efforts, Blue Shield of California is charged with meeting monthly health equity goals. According to its contract with the state, Blue Shield must provide vaccines to a certain percentage of “under-resourced or disproportionately impacted populations.”

Still, reaching California’s vulnerable populations, especially rural, immigrant, farmworker communities will continue to pose significant challenges. Farmworkers are often unable to take time off work during daytime hours, may lack reliable transportation to urban centers and may have limited English or digital proficiency. Of California’s 300,000+ undocumented farmworkers, some may fear that immigration status precludes them from getting the vaccine or jeopardizes their public safety.

Early vaccine distribution efforts have been messy. Local officials have struggled to coordinate with the California Department of Public Health, which, in turn, has received insufficient vaccine supplies from the federal government. While there is hope that the contract with Blue Shield will help, some county health officials have expressed concerns with the lack of transparency from Blue Shield. For vulnerable farmworker communities, delegating vaccination efforts to a third-party administrator risks sidelining trusted and respected local organizations that have advocated alongside farmworkers for decades.

The COVID-19 Farmer and Rural Immigrant Community Advocacy Coalition, a diverse group of community-based organizations rooted in the Central Valley, has offered four recommendations to the state’s Community Vaccine Advisory Committee to ensure farmworker communities are granted access to vaccines. The coalition is calling for a sufficient number of vaccine doses reserved for farmworkers and their families; coordination with migrant health clinics and local organizations that have close ties to farmworker communities; assurance that farmworkers receive their allocated vaccines and culturally appropriate educational outreach efforts to combat vaccine hesitancy and myths.

The State of California should be lauded for its health equity goals and recent announcement to reserve 40% of its vaccines for our hardest-hit communities. Whether we achieve these goals will depend on our government’s willingness to engage and collaborate with local organizations that are invested in the health and wellbeing of farmworkers and their families. Organizations such as the United Farm Workers of America Foundation and the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation have advocated for farmworker rights throughout this pandemic and continue to work tirelessly to educate and persuade farmworkers to receive the vaccine. Our state should collaborate with and invest in these existing public health infrastructures.

If California can meet its health equity goals and ease the pain of this pandemic for farmworkers and their families, we’ll set an example for the rest of the country. We hope these targeted vaccination efforts reflect a broader recognition that farm workers and their families, regardless of immigration status, are essential and not expendable. As valued members of our society, they are entitled to more than just vaccines; they are entitled to full and meaningful access to all of the health care services our state has to offer.

This story was originally published May 8, 2021 at 6:00 AM.