NYS Bringing Coronavirus Vaccine To Ag Workers

WALDEN, NY — New York health officials are starting a new mobile vaccination program to bring coronavirus vaccines to agricultural and food production workers across the state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday.

Cuomo visited the Hudson Valley and Angry Orchard — the nation's leading maker of hard ciders — to make the announcement.

State officials are working with Rural & Migrant Ministry, a statewide nonprofit, and with Sun River Health, one of New York's largest community health center systems with centers throughout the Hudson Valley, Long Island and New York City.

"We understand agricultural workers have demanding schedules — it's hard to get to a vaccine site," Cuomo said. "So we're going to start mobile vaccinations. Sun River Health will operate them. They'll come to farms so they can vaccinate the workers, the managers, on site."

New York State will provide 500 doses to Sun River Health, a local health care network, to administer to Angry Orchard employees, as well as farm and food production workers from other facilities in the Orange County area. Vaccines will be administered beginning April 21.

Juanita Sarmiento from Rural & Migrant Ministry thanked the coalition of organizations that fought for coronavirus testing and vaccines for farmworkers. "When we speak of essential workers there are none more essential than farmworkers," she said. "They have worked so hard through the pandemic to keep us all fed."

Ryan Burke, head cider maker for Angry Orchard, said he was grateful to Cuomo and Ann Kauffman Nolon, CEO of Sun River Health, for making vaccines available to the state's agricultural workers. Agriculture is the key to the New York State economy, he said.

Farmers across the state are eager to participate, said Chris Kelder, a farmer and member of the New York Farm Bureau's board of directors. "We are fortunate to have migrant worker health clinics in New York State."

Cuomo said New York continues its race between infection and vaccination. The statewide coronavirus positivity rate was at 3.9 percent as of Tuesday. Western New York had the highest rate, at 4.8 percent, while Long Island and Hudson Valley were second- and third-highest, with rates of 3.8 and 3.7 percent.