Covid-19 disease burden, vaccine uptake, and workplace disease prevention efforts in temporary agricultural workers in the US

Abstract

Objective. To compare Covid-19 risk factors, self-reported Covid-19 testing and infection, and Covid-19 vaccination among H-2A workers and agricultural workers without H-2A visas. Materials and methods. Farmworkers completed surveys at randomly selected sites in five U.S. states from March – August 2022. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses were conducted for key characteristics and outcomes. Results. A total of 532 H-2A workers and 748 non-H-2A workers participated in the surveys. H-2A workers had significantly higher Covid-19 primary vaccine series uptake than non-H-2A workers (94.7 vs. 65.9%). More than one in four H-2A workers (29.6%) continued working while ill or positive with Covid-19. Fewer H-2A than non-H-2A workers reported receiving a Covid-19 test (51.5 vs. 59.2%, respectively) and a positive test result for Covid-19 (24.5 vs. 44.9% among those tested). Conclusions. Although H-2A workers had a lower self-reported prevalence of Covid-19 and higher Covid-19 primary vaccine series uptake than non-H-2A workers, findings such as reporting to work while ill or positive for Covid-19 indicate areas for improvement by binational public health leaders.