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I N F O R M AT I O N
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Voice of the Fields California
September 2021
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Wildfire Update
Spanish: www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics-in-spanish/
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HE DIXIE FIRE that began on July 13 has now become the biggest wildfire in California history. While those living in the Plumas, Butte, Lassen and Tehama counties have felt the impacts of the Dixie Fire the most, it has also blanketed many other parts of California with skies of grey smoke and caused widespread poor air quality conditions.
In light of the Dixie Fire (as well as the approaching peak of wildfire season), it is important for farmworkers to know their rights to personal safety amid growing wildfire evacuation zones and poor air quality conditions. If the Air Quality Index (AQI) is above 150, your employer is required to give you an N-95 mask. N-95 masks filter out harmful particles in the air that could otherwise get into your lungs and even your bloodstream. Due to the nature of their job, farmworkers have a high risk of being exposed to
hazardous air quality conditions, such as air that has been polluted from wildfire smoke. This year could be one of the worst wildfire seasons on record for California, especially since the current drought has left much of California’s land dangerously dry. Though it is your employer’s responsibility to monitor the AQI and wildfire conditions, it may be helpful for you to know where to access this information yourself. To check your local AQI, visit the AirNow website: English: www.airnow.gov
COVID-19 UPDATES
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RECENT STUDY conducted by Harvard University found a link between wildfire smoke and rising COVID-19 cases and deaths.
It’s no secret that smoke-filled air is harmful to the lungs and medical experts have known for years that particulates in wildfire smoke collect in the lungs and cause inflammation. This is why employees working outside are required by law to be provided with an N95 mask by their employer. Since the beginning of the pandemic, health officials worried that smoke exposure may also worsen COVID-19 cases and deaths. Now, new research has confirmed their concerns.
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FTER MEETING rigorous standards for emergency use, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. This means that “the public can be very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product,” said the acting FDA commissioner, Dr. Janet Woodcock. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines are also FDA approved for emergency use. While Pfizer and Moderna are two-shot vaccines, Johnson & Johnson is only one. All three are recommended by medical experts for vaccination.
Volume 31, Number 9
We talked about how breathing smoky air causes lung inflammation and as a result, COVID-19 symptoms can be made much worse. Coronavirus attacks the lungs and causes inflammation, and if your lungs are already inflamed from breathing wildfire smoke, symptoms and impacts are likely to be more extreme. But, doctors aren’t just worried about wildfire smoke worsening COVID-19 symptoms. Breathing smoke also suppresses the body’s immune system. This means that wildfire smoke also likely increases the risk of getting COVID-19. According to Harvard’s findings, 20% of COVID-19 cases in Washington and California were linked to wildfire smoke exposure in certain counties. Between Oregon, Washington, and California, researchers found that particulate matter in wildfire smoke accounted for 19,742 COVID-19 Thursday 10am cases and 748 deaths in 2020.
To track California’s wildfires to see if there is are any active fires burning near you, you can download the CalFire App, or go to the CalFire’s website: English: www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/ Spanish: www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/?lang=es Additionally, if you work in Ventura County, you can sign up for text alerts in English or Spanish to notify you when Ventura’s air quality is dangerous or polluted. To sign up, text “smoke” for English notifications or “humo” for Spanish to 855-522-0034. Although California’s labor laws are among the strictest in the nation, these laws are not always adequately enforced. If you find that your employer is not complying with Cal OSHA’s safety requirements, you can file an anonymous complaint here: English: www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/complaint.htm Spanish: www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/Spanish/complaint.htm The good news is that in 2021, we now have the COVID-19 vaccine which is more than 90% effective against contracting the virus, and more than 95% effective against severe symptoms for those that are fully vaccinated. The bad news is that we are only a little over halfway through 2021 and have already had about 5,000 more fires than in 2020. We also now have COVID-19 variants that are massively more infectious and harmful than the original virus. In other words, it’s likely that this year’s wildfires will increase COVID-19 cases and deaths like they did in 2020, particularly among those that are unvaccinated. Do your part by getting vaccinated for free, regardless of immigration or insurance status. Learn more about getting vaccinated by visiting the following websites. Many vaccine locations have walk-in availability, so you may not even have to make an appointment. California website and call center for walk-in availability and appointments: English: myturn.ca.gov Spanish: myturn.ca.gov/es_US.html Call Center: 1-833-422-4255 CDC website for walk-in availability and appointments: English: www.vaccines.gov/search/ Spanish: www.vacunas.gov/search/ Continued on next page
Updates
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Variants and Additional T’S BEEN ALMOST TWO YEARS since the COVID-19 virus was first identified, and since that time, health experts have learned so much about the way that the virus works and what treatment plans are effective. They also used decades worth of research on a vaccine for viral lung infections to create the COVID-19 vaccine. Medical experts know that our best defense against the virus is getting vaccinated, but what they
Now responsible for the majority of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. n Far more infectious than COVID-19 n May cause more deaths among those infected n Breakthrough cases are rare among vaccinated individuals
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don’t know yet is just how long the vaccine will protect people who’ve had it. There’s also another hurdle: variants. We’ve discussed in previous issues that viruses survive for long periods by mutating, which makes them stronger, often more infectious and sometimes
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CCORDING TO THE UC DAVIS Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety, about one-third of farmworkers in California are from indigenous communities in Mexico and speak indigenous languages.
As a result, many farmworkers often don’t speak English or Spanish. As a migrant and seasonal farmworker, there are so many things to be aware of: labor laws, immigration rights, resources available, disaster alerts, and more. Informational resources are routinely provided in English and Spanish languages, but we recognize that many farmworkers would be better served viewing these materials in their own indigenous languages. For this reason, we’ve created a list of resources in indigenous languages from Listos California, a California website designed to boost disaster preparedness among Latinos, covering topics like COVID-19 safety and natural disaster preparedness against things like wildfires. This information is available in the Chatino and Mixteco languages. With the recent rise in Delta-variant COVID-19 cases in California, as well as the current wildfire season, resources like these are more important than ever. Below are the links to Listos California’s COVID-19 and natural disaster preparedness videos in Chatino and Mixteco: Preparing for Natural Disasters: Chatino: www.listoscalifornia.org/resources/?_ COVID-19 Safety Tips: languages=chatino%2Cmixteco%2Cpurepechwww.listoscalifornia.org/resources/?_languagesa%2Ctlapaneco%2Czapoteco#preparing-for=chatino%2Cmixteco%2Cpurepecha%2Ctladisaster-safety-tips-for-mixteco-speakers-frompaneco%2Czapoteco#covid-19-safety-tips-for santo-tomas-ocotepec-oaxaca-mexico -chatino-speakers-from-cerro-del-aire-nopalaMixteco juquila-oaxaca (Santiago Naranjas, Juxtlahuaca, Oaxaca): Preparing For Natural Disasters: COVID-19 Safety Tips: www.listoscalifornia.org/resources/?_ https://www.listoscalifornia.org/resources/?_ languages=chatino%2Cmixteco%2Cpurepechlanguages=chatino%2Cmixteco%2Cpurepea%2Ctlapaneco%2Czapoteco#preparing-forcha%2Ctlapaneco%2Czapoteco#covid-19-safedisaster-safety-tips-for-chatino-speakers-fromty-tips-for-mixteco-speakers-from-santiago-na cerro-del-aire-nopala-juquila-oaxaca ranjas-juxtlahuaca-oaxaca Mixteco Preparing for Natural Disasters: (Santo Tomas, Octotepec and Oaxaca): www.listoscalifornia.org/resources/?_ COVID-19 Safety Tips: languages=chatino%2Cmixteco%2Cpurepechwww.listoscalifornia.org/resources/?_languagesa%2Ctlapaneco%2Czapoteco#preparing-for=chatino%2Cmixteco%2Cpurepecha%2Ctlapanecdisaster-safety-tips-for-mixteco-speakers-fromo%2Czapoteco#covid-19-safety-tips-for-mixteco-sp santiago-naranjas-juxtlahuaca-oaxaca eakers-from-santo-tomas-ocotepec-oaxaca-mexico
more deadly to their hosts. At left is a breakdown of the Delta variant, the most concerning mutation in the United States at the moment. Again, we know that the COVID-19 vaccine is massively effective, but we don’t know how long it lasts. Given the recent surge in variants and COVID-19 cases, medical experts recommend that immunocompromised, vaccinated individuals begin getting additional vaccine doses to enhance the effectiveness of their previous vaccine doses. Currently, this is only available to the individuals with severe, underlying illnesses (immunocompromised) that make them more susceptible to COVID-19. Visit the California COVID-19 website to see if you or someone you know is eligible for an additional dose of the COVID-19 vaccine: English: covid19.ca.gov/vaccines/#Boostershots-and-additional-doses Spanish: covid19.ca.gov/es/vaccines/#Boostershots-and-additional-doses
Booster Shots EVELOPERS OF THE COVID-19 vaccines are currently working on “booster shots” for fully vaccinated individuals which are intended to boost the effectiveness of previous vaccine doses. As discussed in the previous section, the recent rise in COVID-19 variants and questions about how long the vaccine lasts is concerning to medical experts. We don’t want to enter into a situation where protection against COVID-19 runs out and we’re scrambling to get people fully vaccinated again. Instead, scientists are trying to be proactive and prevent increased cases and deaths before they happen. Stay tuned for more information about booster shots in the coming months by visiting the California COVID-19 website: English: covid19.ca.gov Spanish: covid19.ca.gov/es/
Voice of the Fields California Circulation: 45,000 copies www.LaCooperativa.org Published monthly by: La Cooperativa Campesina de California 1107 9th Street, Suite 420, Sacramento, CA 95814 This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it. Internal use by an organization and/or personal use by an individual for non-commercial purposes is permissible. All other uses require the prior authorization of the copyright owner. Content produced by ALZA Strategies, a full-service strategy firm that offers quality media relations, crisis communications, public affairs services, and expertise into the growing Latino market.