These Californians can’t work from home. Here’s how they’re finally getting COVID vaccines

Pedro Zavala felt a sense of relief when he rolled up his sleeve on a Yolo County farm this week so a nurse could deliver a shot of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine.

He’s struggled to keep safe from the pandemic for the past year, while he, like hundreds of thousands of other California farm workers, showed up to work day after day despite the risks of catching the virus.

“There are many people who have not received the vaccine and this is an advancement for us,” Zavala, 45, of Yuba City said after he got the shot.

He was among the first to take advantage of a pilot clinic geared toward vaccinating farm workers in Yolo County, where health workers administered shots to about 200 farm workers at an organic farm known for growing asparagus, tomatoes and winter squash.

It’s an effort to ensure a population that might not have easy access to medical care, health insurance or COVID-related information in Spanish gets vaccinated.

The new outreach in Yolo County follows months of advocacy by farm worker unions and lawmakers representing agricultural communities who’ve highlighted the risks laborers are taking to ensure that food remains available at grocery stores in the midst of the global pandemic.

Although they’re considered essential workers, the state’s vaccination plan has prioritized seniors and health care workers over them.

“They put food on our table and risk their lives every day to maintain the country’s food supply,” Assemblyman Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, in a statement earlier this month. “It is unacceptable that so many farm workers are struggling to access and receive the COVID-19 vaccine, despite being rightfully prioritized in ... the state’s vaccination plan.”

A recent study by the Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas and the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health released last year highlighted the COVID-19 pandemic’s disproportionate toll on agricultural workers in California.

About one in five farm workers who participated in the study tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, indicating prior infection, according to the study. A quarter of the farm workers surveyed said they knew a loved one who had contracted the virus and 7% knew a loved one who died from it.

Yolo County speeds up vaccines to farm workers

Yolo County expanded its vaccine criteria this week to frontline workers who are in the state’s Phase 1b Tier 1 group, opening the door for farm workers who live and work in the region to receive vaccines.

“We understand and know where the farm workers are at, and where they’re working and where they’re living, so it’s easy for us to really target the farm worker population here in Yolo County,” said Yolo County Board Supervisor Angel Barajas, who represents District 5.

Additional clinics, according to Barajas, are expected to be scheduled at other worksites.

Not all counties have begun to vaccinate farm workers. In California, each county’s vaccine rollout plan varies depending on the county and its supply of doses.

Originally, Barajas said farm workers were six to eight weeks away from receiving vaccines in Yolo County, but “we pushed to expedite the process,” he said, after discussion with county supervisors and county health officials.

There are approximately 305,000 frontline workers in California’s agricultural industry, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. About 7,000 farm workers live in Yolo County, Barajas estimates.

Door-to-door outreach

Marcus Tang, director of Citizenship and Immigration Project at the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, said many farm workers in California are relying on their children or younger adults in the community to help them figure out vaccine eligibility requirements or how to sign up for appointments online.

“In a lot of communities that are not English proficient, the messaging still hasn’t really reached as much as it could,” Tang said. “A lot of that still hasn’t translated to groups that may not have the best internet usage or groups that are website savvy.”

It’s why Barajas said the county will push an aggressive campaign, that includes door-to-door outreach, to ensure farm workers know they qualify to receive vaccines, especially as harvest season approaches in early March.

All farm workers interviewed by The Sacramento Bee at the site said they worked at the farm or at a nearby farm. They said they did not have to schedule their appointments online and were instead referred to the clinic by their supervisors.

Irma Madrigal, 49, of Woodland, said she felt relieved to receive the vaccine after working at the farm for the past year, adding that the shot was painless.

Yolo County is holding another vaccine clinic to eligible frontline workers this Saturday in Woodland. More information on how to register for the clinic can be found here or by calling 211.

Zavala, the longtime farm worker who was among the first to get a shot at the Yolo County event this week, says he’ll be back for the second dose in three weeks.

This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 8:32 AM with the headline "These Californians can’t work from home. Here’s how they’re finally getting COVID vaccines."