Mushroom company workers get COVID vaccines through mobile clinic
Segio Guzman has spent the last year worried.
The 33-year-old from Reading has kept working at Giorgi Companies straight through the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s put himself at risk, serving as an essential worker helping to keep the county’s food supply lines running.
“I’ve been kind of scared; I’ve got kids,” he said. “Stepping outside the door every day you don’t know what’s out there.”
Wednesday morning, April 14, some of Guzman’s fears were eased. He sat on a folding chair inside a large, white tent erected outside of the mushroom company’s Blandon plant, a freshly filled out vaccination card in his hand.
Moments before, he had been jabbed in the arm with his first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. It was a much-appreciated step toward safety.
“This makes me feel a little better,” he said.
Guzman was one of about 1,300 Giorgi employees and family members of employees who got a chance to get vaccinated Tuesday and Wednesday, thanks to a visit from the CATE Mobile Vaccination Unit.
The mobile clinic is the product of a partnership between Latino Connection, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Highmark Blue Shield, the Independence Blue Cross Foundation and other community health partners. It provides vaccinations and education throughout Pennsylvania, targeting minority and underserved communities.
The stop in Blandon was the third in the unit’s 120stop tour.
George Fernandez, founder and CEO of Latino
Connection, said his organization has a long-standing
relationship with Giorgi. When the mobile clinic project came together, he said, it was only natural to include the company.
“Their employees are literal heroes,” he said, referring to their continued work during the pandemic. “They’ve helped feed many people.”