Tyson Foods plans 19 employee vaccination events across Arkansas
Springdale, Ark. – March 15, 2021 –Tyson Foods, Inc. is expanding its free, onsite COVID-19 vaccinations to all team members in the state of Arkansas, where 20 percent of the company’s U.S. workforce is based. March 15 through April 2, the company will hold 19 vaccination events to ensure the company’s 24,000 Arkansas employees have convenient access to the vaccine.
The vaccines are being provided in conjunction with Matrix Medical, local health departments and other healthcare providers where food processing workers are among the priority groups now eligible for vaccination.
“We’re pleased to offer our team members convenient access to the vaccine and are committed to a long-term strategy that ensures any team member who wants a vaccine will receive one,” said Tom Brower, senior vice president of Health and Safety for Tyson Foods. “We’re focused on educating and encouraging our team members to be vaccinated and will continue to leverage both onsite events and our relationships with local health departments to make the vaccine easily accessible.”
Additional vaccination events are planned this week for Tyson team members in Noel, Missouri, Enid Oklahoma, San Lorenzo, California and Rochelle, Illinois.
Over the past two weeks, 15,000 of the company’s U.S. employees have been vaccinated at 30 onsite events across the country. This includes more than 1,200 team members who were vaccinated March 9 and 10 at Tyson facilities in Fayetteville and Springdale, Arkansas. Photos, b-roll and team member interviews from the Fayetteville event are available for download.
In preparation for vaccinations, Tyson Foods has been providing expert resources and education about the vaccine to team members. This information is available in multiple languages and team members also have access to a hotline to ask questions. In addition to offering free, on-site vaccinations, the company also recently announced that it is compensating workers for up to four hours of regular pay if they are vaccinated outside of their normal shift or through an external source.
Tyson Foods’ vaccination efforts are the latest in a series of measures the company has taken to fight COVID-19. Since the spring of 2020, the company invested hundreds of millions of dollars to transform its U.S. facilities with protective measures, from walk-through temperature scanners and workstation dividers to social distance monitors and always-on testing, as well as provide additional team member pay and benefits. Tyson Foods has also expanded its health services staff, added a chief medical officer and plans to pilot health clinics for team members and their families early this year.
Tyson Foods continues to experience success in its efforts to protect workers from the virus. The incidence of the virus involving the company’s U.S. team members remains very low.