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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Wednesday, February 19, 2025
The Supreme Court wrestled with the question Friday of whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration can require employees at businesses of 100 or more employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing.
Workers at companies with 100 or more employees will have to either get vaccinated for COVID-19 or wear face masks and take weekly tests under an emergency standard published Friday.
The Department of Agriculture will require all federal employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by November 22, except those who are “legally entitled to a reasonable or religious accommodation,” according to a workplace safety plan outlining the department's pandemic response.
The Biden administration is requiring all federal employees and government contractors to get vaccinated for COVID-19 and will extend the mandate to companies with at least 100 employees.
Tyson Foods is sweetening benefits for employees in its effort to encourage vaccinations, offering up to 20 hours of paid sick for workers who get shots.
Small businesses have a crucial role to play in ensuring COVID-19 vaccines get into the arms of rural Americans, who have been less eager than their urban and suburban counterparts to get the shots, panelists said at a virtual summit Thursday.
President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 advisers tell Agri-Pulse they’re optimistic that rural residents will get vaccinated in sufficient numbers to stop the virus from circulating. But these advisers say they know people who may be hesitant about getting a shot have to hear from their doctors and other local people they trust.
Frontline essential workers, including those in the food and agriculture industry, should be in the second group to receive COVID-19 vaccines, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Sunday.