LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Dept. of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has announced farmworkers in Michigan will be prioritized for Covid-19 vaccinations beginning March 1.

Most of the task of getting migrant and seasonal farmworkers in Michigan vaccinated against the novel coronavirus will fall on MDHHS and the Michigan Primary Care Assoc (MPCA). “This will help ensure the health and safety of Michigan’s essential food processing and agriculture workers and keep the state’s food supply chain moving,” said Lynn Sutfin, a spokeswoman for MDHHS. She went on to explain that essential workers are defined as those whose duties must be performed on site and involve being in close proximity – within six feet – to the public or to coworkers. These workers do not include grocery store workers or people who work in restaurants.  “As there is a limited amount of vaccine, not all essential food processing and agriculture workers will be able to be vaccinated right away,” she added.  

The MDHHS’ Chief Medical Executive Joneigh Khaldun recently announced that she was “excited” that the state’s “equity strategy” would allow the department to get more vulnerable Michiganders vaccinated against Covid-19. “Workers in high-risk agricultural settings have been adversely impacted by this pandemic,” Khaldun said. The MDHHS already partnered with Walgreens and MPCA starting in October of last year to provide 77 testing sites for Covid-19 detection; however, it’s not clear if those same sites will be used to vaccinate agricultural workers.

“For more than 50 years, Michigan community health centers have provided critical access to primary and preventive health care to migrant and seasonal farmworkers,” said Tom Kochheiser, a spokesman for MPCA. “Health centers play a lead role in ensuring the Covid-19 vaccine reaches essential agricultural and food processing workers by leveraging their established relationships, supportive services and mobile units to reduce barriers and provide culturally competent care. Our Michigan health centers are proud to continue to serve our communities in administering the Covid-19 vaccine to protect farmworkers as an essential workforce in Michigan. MPCA health centers served more than 13,700 migrant and seasonal farmworkers in 2019.”

Farmworker Legal Services staff attorney Dorian Slaybod, a newly appointed member of the Migrant Labor and Housing Advisory Board, said that the Covid-19 vaccination eligibility for migrant and seasonal farmworkers is all great news, however, he has concerns about farmworkers who are newly arrived in the state, who often work in remote locations and have spotty Internet access.

“Where will the farmworkers get registered to be vaccinated and who will tell them where to go to get vaccinated?” Slaybod asked. “Most of these workers will not be dialed in to the vaccine infrastructure in Michigan. Definitely a lot of reaching out will be needed to reach these workers. It’s essential that we reach out to these frontline workers and get them the information they need. Covid-19 did spread amongst these workers last year.”