ADAMS COUNTY, Pa. — The Agriculture industry never stopped producing and delivering as Covid-19 spread through the commonwealth.
“Agriculture and food made sure that through all of that pandemic and the uncertainty that we could eat," said the Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding.
And as Pennsylvania expanded eligibility to phase 1B, which includes food and agriculture workers, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding says getting them vaccinated is vital in continuing efforts of a safe and efficient food supply chain.
"Please take advantage of the vaccine. being vaccinated is both important to of course the individual, it’s important for the family, but it’s also important to our food system," said Redding.
Redding toured the Adams County--WellSpan Health joint community Covid-19 vaccination site to learn more about some of the hurdles they’re facing.
"There are three main things that we needed to address: one is trust, as you heard the Secretary of Agriculture speak of...There’s fear, and there’s barriers," said the VP of Community Health & Engagement Ann Kunkel.
Their hope is to begin to break that fear and barrier by connecting directly with these individuals.
"We recognize the need to be able to go to employer sites and processing sites to be able to support that and so we have some work underway planning underway to begin that," Kunkel said.
The Adams county vaccination site is also going to begin using a mobile unit this week, to reach those who may have a harder time getting to the vaccination sites.
They think they will be able to vaccinate about 30 people a week.