LOS ANGELES – Yaneth Gutierrez, 34, an agricultural worker picking produce in Central Valley, California, had to take two days off when she fell ill. Two weeks after testing positive for Covid-19, the mother of two lost her job picking carrots because she did not show up for work.
“I do not have the luxury of getting sick,” Gutierrez said. “I was not vaccinated. I have to be extra careful not to get sick again. I have heard bad rumors about the vaccine and am scared, but the risk of bringing the virus home is greater. ”
California recently announced a shift in vaccine admission, from the labor sector to an age-based system that prioritizes Californians over 65. However, the state plans to continue vaccinating school staff, emergency services and health workers, as well as food and agriculture. workers as it transitions into the new age-based system, Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said last week.
In an interview with NBC News, California Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris said that equity is at the forefront and that those already deemed fit will have access to the vaccine, including farm workers.
But according to some groups, it is difficult to get vaccinations for essential workers who qualify. United Farm Workers, the large labor organization, said it could not succeed in appointing vaccinations for its workers through the state’s online portal.
Staff said they had not yet been able to reach the first page of the portal. The pop-up message they receive reads: “Based on your results, you are not eligible for the current phase of implementation, but you are eligible for a future phase.”
“I feel discriminated against,” Gutierrez said. “I think they should give preference to those of us in the field. I think we all deserve the vaccine.”
Teresa Romero, president of United Farm Workers, said many workers who are vulnerable are not vaccinated.
“In the past two weeks, three farm workers under the age of 65 have died from Covid-19. The vaccine age limit affects the majority of coloreds who make up the workforce,” Romero said. “Conservatively, I can say that 90 percent of farm workers in California are Latino.”
Latino officials and labor advocates endorse this concern about shifting levels, saying that these changes endanger the essential workers and their families of Latino when provinces in California lift restrictions.
Ron Herrera, president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, blasted Newsom’s decision, calling it ‘devastating’.
“The governor’s decision to switch from labor to old, I think, will prolong the infection rate because workers are not protected,” Herrera said. ‘On the first day, this federation preached that if we wanted to get control of the virus in Los Angeles, we had to control the workplace. If the workplace is not restricted, workers take the virus to their homes and communities. In the case of Latinos, it tends to be multigenerational homes. ‘
According to the U.S. Census, Latinos make up 39 percent of California’s population, but according to state data, 55 percent of all confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 46.5 percent of all deaths.
The average age of a Latino in California is 28; only 7 percent of Latinos in the state are older than 64. The age required to make a vaccination for non-health workers is 65.
In the state, Latinos make up half of the frontline workers. However, some front-line workers in employment, production, transport and material relocation are not currently eligible for the vaccine.
“Latino families are overwhelmed by this pandemic, and the current safety net does not include all Californians,” state censor María Elena Durazo, chairwoman of the Latino Legislative Caucus, said in a statement related to health inequalities and inequalities in the workplace. what Latinos are experiencing amid pandemic.
This week, Newsom announced the opening of two vaccination centers, one at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland and another at the California State University campus in East Los Angeles, two areas severely affected by the coronavirus.
María Patiño, 30, in Los Angeles, said nearly every member of her immediate family was infected with Covid-19, including both her parents. Her family consists of essential workers living in a multigenerational household. Last month, her mother, Rosa María Patiño, died of the coronavirus. She was 63 and a food factory worker.
“She would arrive at work early to be purified, but there are three different shifts with many workers working closely together to examine the food,” Patiño said. “She wanted to be vaccinated. She plans to retire in March. ‘
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