Which states are vaccinating food system workers?
As the Covid-19 vaccine becomes available across the country, the workers who pick, pack, process, sell, and serve our food have been placed in a range of priority groups. Food system workers can receive the vaccine in most but not all states.
As of April 19 at 12pm ET, farmworkers, food processing workers, meatpacking workers, grocery workers, and restaurant workers are eligible to receive the vaccine in all 50 states.
The interactive map below shows the eligibility status of five occupational groups: farmworkers, food processing workers, meatpacking workers, grocery workers, and restaurant workers. Select a sector from the dropdown map to see eligibility for each group, and hover over each state for eligibility details. To see a larger version of these maps, click here.
*In Washington, D.C., all five occupational groups are eligible for the vaccine.
Methodology
This map was updated each weekday from March 25 to April 19, when all states made adults eligible for the vaccine.
The data represented in these maps is primarily collected from state health authorities, with additional information gathered from news reports.
This map displays worker eligibility by occupational group. Some states have made certain age groups or those with underlying medical conditions eligible for the vaccine ahead of occupational groups; in those cases, worker eligibility is determined by whether the occupational group is explicitly eligible for the vaccine. In cases where workers will become eligible only when all adults are eligible, that is noted on the map. If all adults are eligible for the vaccine in a state, all worker sectors are denoted as eligible on the maps. In some cases, eligibility varies by county; in those cases, which are noted, the statewide vaccine phases are used to determine eligibility for the purposes of these maps.
If you have questions about the methodology, contact Leah Douglas (leah@thefern.org).