RESUMO
The poultry and meatpacking industry is one of the largest in Arkansas and was associated with several COVID-19 outbreaks at the start of the pandemic. Marshallese and Hispanic workers account for much of the poultry and meatpacking workforce and were disproportionately affected. The Arkansas Department of Health held worksite vaccination clinics and administered 1794 doses. Of those doses, 1219 (67.9%) and 391 (21.8%) were administered to Hispanic and Marshallese workers, respectively. Vaccination efforts must target populations that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. (Am J Public Health. 2023;113(5):500-503. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307226).
Assuntos
COVID-19 , Aves Domésticas , Humanos , Animais , Arkansas/epidemiologia , Populações Vulneráveis , VacinaçãoRESUMO
By June 2020, Marshallese and Hispanic or Latino (Hispanic) persons in Benton and Washington counties of Arkansas had received a disproportionately high number of diagnoses of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Despite representing approximately 19% of these counties' populations (1), Marshallese and Hispanic persons accounted for 64% of COVID-19 cases and 57% of COVID-19-associated deaths. Analyses of surveillance data, focus group discussions, and key-informant interviews were conducted to identify challenges and propose strategies for interrupting transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Challenges included limited native-language health messaging, high household occupancy, high employment rate in the poultry processing industry, mistrust of the medical system, and changing COVID-19 guidance. Reducing the COVID-19 incidence among communities that suffer disproportionately from COVID-19 requires strengthening the coordination of public health, health care, and community stakeholders to provide culturally and linguistically tailored public health education, community-based prevention activities, case management, care navigation, and service linkage.
