November 24, 2020

BMPA calls on UK government to put meat plant workers top of COVID-19 vaccine list

The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA), together with the Food Standards Agency and the Northern Ireland Meat Exporters Association have urged the government's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to consider putting meat plant workers on the list of early COVID-19 vaccine recipients.

Nick Allen, BMPA CEO, said meat plant workers are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 because of food processing's cold factory requirement and the facilities' rural locations, which mean workers usually share transport or house-share.

Allen said sufficient supplies of COVID-19, after it is made available to frontline workers such as health and social care workers, should then be prioritised for meat plant workers to ensure the country's critical food chain supply.

-      British Meat Processors Association