Ag industry feels it is better prepared to keep workers healthy

We have officially passed the one-year anniversary of the pandemic. The agriculture community seems to be more confident, and better prepared to protect farm worker’s health.

The Washington State Tree Fruit Association believes vaccinations are a priority because ag is not a virtual industry. It often requires you to be in close vicinity of your colleagues. The group says another plus is protective equipment is in better reach.

According to Jon Devaney, “A year ago, there was not enough PPE to adequately protect workers and we saw some initial outbreaks in agriculture that were really concerning. We do now have the PPE and the producers in place so that we have not really seen the kind of frequent outbreaks that happened at the very beginning of the pandemic.”

The group says that there is still a strong desire to protect the workforce from exposure and getting vaccinated is the answer.

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