The vaccines are embedded in science, one lawmaker said
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Representatives of the U.S. ag community are encouraging others in the industry to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
President Biden announced on Tuesday that all American adults will be eligible to receive a vaccination by April 19. This is two weeks earlier than his original May 1 date.
And members of the U.S. farming sector want others within the community to take advantage of the opportunity.
The American Farm Bureau, for example, is a founding member of the COVID-19 Community Corps. The corps is a group of organizations the White House has tapped to help promote vaccine confidence.
“We are making sure that these farmers and ranchers understand the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine and have the appropriate tools to handle any sort of issues with vaccine hesitancy or concerns and questions about the vaccine,” said Allison Crittenden, congressional relations director with the American Farm Bureau.
Farmers are experienced in trusting facts and data to make the best decisions on their farms.
The vaccine is rooted in trustworthy information, said Russell Redding, Pennsylvania’s secretary of agriculture.
“All of us in agriculture have learned to accept science, work with science (and) see the benefits of science,” he said, ButlerRadio.com reported. “The vaccination is a science.”
In South Dakota, one of the state’s largest farm groups is also encouraging farmers to receive their COVID-19 vaccinations.
Three South Dakota farm families shared their stories with the South Dakota Farmers Union to help convince others to get vaccinated.
“This disease is no joke,” Doug Sombke, president of the union, said in a March 30 statement. “Too many farm and ranch families have lost loved ones to COVID-19. Too many seats (were empty) this Easter. I am grateful there is a vaccine. We all need to get vaccinated so we can stop the spread of this deadly disease.”
General vaccine information can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
And CNN has posted a list of phone numbers and email addresses to contact for state-by-state COVID-19 vaccine information.