BERKELEY, Calif. Vaccinations are underway for health care workers, and so are lobbying efforts to give a higher priority to workers in certain jobs. One such group is California s 800,000 farmworkers.
The COVID-19 infection rate among farmworkers is staggering. In the Salinas Valley, a study by UC Berkeley found farmworkers tested positive at a rate almost three times higher than the overall state population. Whether it be the Central Valley, Imperial Valley, whether it s the Salinas Valley, they have been impacted significantly, and certainly ensuring that we protect them through a vaccination or we begin those efforts is incredibly important, said Assm. Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), who is chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee.