In Northwest Arkansas and across the country, areas with meatpacking plants had twice the level of Covid-19 spread as those without plants. A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences estimated 6-8 percent of all U.S. Covid cases and 3-4 percent of all U.S. Covid deaths were linked to meatpacking plants as of July 21.
Tyson Foods is the largest employer in Carroll County with about 2,400 employees in Green Forest and Berryville. That’s close to ten percent of the county’s population of about 28,000. Both of those plants were listed as workplaces with more than five active cases of Covid in the January 18 Arkansas Dept. of Health occupation clusters report.
Berryville had 114 cases with eight considered active. Green Forest had 288 cases with five active cases. In the most recent ADH report, neither plant had five or more active cases, and overall occupational cases in the state were also down considerably.
Tyson spokesman Derek Burleson said the company plans to offer vaccine to all its employees including those in Carroll County. He said timing of vaccine availability varies from state-to-state.
“However, we expect it will be sometime early this year,” he said. “Matrix Medical has been certified to distribute vaccines in several states where we operate, but the specific timing depends on when each state makes the vaccine available to Matrix.
“Right now, we’re focused on education, so our team members have accurate information to make a decision that’s right for them. We’re sharing trusted, third-party information from the experts at Matrix and the CDC about the vaccine to our team members. Information is being translated in multiple languages and team members now have access to a hotline to ask questions.”
Tyson has about 24,000 employees in Arkansas, and 100,000 in the United States.
Berryville Mayor Tim McKinney said it would be very helpful if Tyson is able to get its essential workers vaccinated.
“I think it is getting to point almost everyone knows people who have lost their lives or had very serious illnesses from Covid-19,” McKinney said. “I just hope everyone will take getting the vaccine shot seriously. Getting the vaccine is not just for you, but to prevent you from spreading the virus to others. I would encourage everyone to try to get the vaccine as early as possible. I’ve had my first dose. It felt about the same as a flu shot with just a little soreness in the arm. We are starting to see these variants and mutants. The more people who continue to catch Covid-19, the more chances it has to mutate. So, we want to prevent people getting it in the first place.”
Meatpacking workers are not among the 1B group currently eligible for the vaccine. That group includes people over 70, and school employees. Healthcare employees and law enforcement were in the first group vaccinated.
“I think it is a mistake to say that meat processing are essential workers but are not being prioritized for the vaccine,” according to Magaly Licolli, executive director of Venecermos, a group supporting rights of poultry workers in Northwest Arkansas. “Meat processing workers never stopped working during the pandemic. They were forced to stay in their jobs. Meatpacking plants have been a hotbed for Covid-19 because of the lack of protection for workers. It should be a priority to protect these workers because they are the ones doing the work to put food on our tables.”
Licolli said there have been more deaths in meatpacking workers in the state than in groups that have already been offered the vaccine, including schoolteachers and healthcare workers. She said meat packing workers should have been alongside doctors and nurses in being the first to be offered the vaccines.
“It seems again it is about race because most of the meatpacking workers in Northwest Arkansas are Latinos, Blacks and Pacific Islanders,” she said. “It seems they are really discriminating against these workers.”
Licolli said it is also important to educate workers in their native languages that the vaccines are safe and effective.
“There is a lot of fear of the vaccines,” she said. “I don’t blame them. They have always been mistreated by the systems. We need to educate the most vulnerable communities about the importance of getting the vaccine and tell people they need to be more proactive about protecting their community.”
A local Latino woman said many are reluctant to take the vaccine because it has not been completely approved yet—the vaccines have only an emergency use authorization—and false information is being spread.
“I got my vaccine already,” said the woman, who was not named because of privacy issues. “To me, it is a second chance of life. I am so thankful I got the first dose due to being a long-time ECHO clinic volunteer. I’m counting days until I get the second vaccine. I take it very seriously. As soon as it becomes available, I will encourage family members and friends to get it. A lot of people in my community have already gotten Covid. Some didn’t get that sick, but others have been very ill and some have passed. I don’t wish that for anyone.”
The Arkansas Department of Health said the second group of Phase 1B will likely start getting vaccinated sometime in February, but there are still large numbers of people in the first group of Phase 1B who had not yet been able to get vaccinated as of early February.
The U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis launched an investigation Feb. 1 into coronavirus outbreaks at meatpacking plants by sending letters to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and to three largest processors in the country, Tyson Foods, JBS USA and Smithfield Foods, demanding records related to the outbreaks.
Rep. James Clyburn, Chair of the House committee, said nearly 54,000 workers at 569 meatpacking plants in the U.S. have tested positive for Covid and 270 have died. As of Dec. 21, 2020, ADH reported a total of 6,477 PCR-confirmed COVID diagnoses and 33 deaths among poultry workers in Arkansas. Two of those were workers at the Berryville Tyson plant.