Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
More Meat Shortages Likely As Industry Struggles To Get Back To Speed, Protect Workforce
Tyson Foods, the largest meat processor in the United States, has transformed its facilities across the country since legions of its workers started getting sick from the novel coronavirus. It has set up on-site medical clinics, screened employees for fevers at the beginning of their shifts, required the use of face coverings, installed plastic dividers between stations and taken a host of other steps to slow the spread. Despite those efforts, the number of Tyson employees with the coronavirus has exploded from less than 1,600 a month ago to more than 7,000 today, according to a Washington Post analysis of news reports and public records. (Telford, 6/8)
See how workers stand shoulder to shoulder to provide Americans with affordable meat. As plants reopen, the coronavirus remains a threat. (Parshina-Kottas, Buchanan, Aufrichtig and Corkery, 6/8)
Dave Mensink, a hog farmer in southeastern Minnesota, estimates that the COVID-19 crisis is costing him between $22 to $26 per pig over the next 12 months, at current Chicago Mercantile Exchange prices. That adds up to about $160,000 to $187,000 in projected revenue loss, since he has about 7,200 pigs on his 3,800-acre lot, along with a small herd of cattle. (Turman, 6/9)
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who are immigrants are critical in supporting essential industries during the COVID-19 crisis, particularly in the health care and food supply industries, where more than two-thirds of AAPIs helping fight the virus are immigrants, according to data released late last month. New American Economy, a research organization that advocates for immigration policies that bolster the economy, launched an Immigrants and COVID-19 Portal this year to show the vital role immigrants play in the country's fight against the coronavirus pandemic, as well as its response and recovery. (Constante, 6/8)
