Duarte Nursery workers get COVID-19 vaccines. ‘It’s something everybody should do’
Duarte Nursery provided COVID-19 vaccines to hundreds of its workers Wednesday and is opening its Hughson quarters to nearby employers this week.
Eva Martinez took a break from her grapevine grafting job so she could roll up her sleeve and do her part.
“I feel pretty safe taking the vaccine,” the nine-year employee said through a Spanish interpreter. “It’s something everybody should do.”
Duarte is a leading producer of nut trees and grapevines for commercial growers in California. Its workers have priority for vaccines because they are part of the food industry.
President John Duarte said he hoped most of the 450 or so employees would choose to get vaccinated. Wednesday was their first dose of the Pfizer shot, to be followed by the second in three weeks.
The nursery converted a warehouse into an impromptu clinic staffed by Optum, a health care company. The organizers stacked large plastic fruit bins to create private spaces for the shots.
Nursery shipping manager Liliana Rivera said she had worried about the vaccine’s safety but decided it was worth being part of fighting COVID-19.
“We need to start somewhere,” she said. “We need to feel safe coming to work.”
Each vaccinated worker got a T-shirt for the occasion, featuring a sketch of the bandage that goes over each needle prick.
John Duarte said the clinic came together after a phone call with Karen Ross, secretary of food and agriculture for California. Stanislaus County Supervisor Vito Chiesa, whose district includes Hughson, also was involved.
The county has a few other large nurseries serving fruit and nut growers around the state. They are considered essential for vaccines because an interruption in production now could affect the food supply in a few years.
Duarte has offered the clinic space to several other ag employers in the Hughson area Thursday and Friday. The list as of Wednesday was mainly almond and walnut processors, such as Grower Direct, Mid-Valley, Alpine-Pacific, Frazier and California Grown.
This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 1:30 PM.
