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Dairy specialist teaching dairy workers about COVID vaccinations
Latino and Hispanic dairy workers are learning about COVID vaccination safety from an extension dairy specialist. Dr. Maristela Rovai at South Dakota State University is doing 15-minute educational seminars for dairy farm employees at their workplaces during lunch breaks or at shift-change.
“I’m giving them the opportunity to understand a little bit more,” Rovai told Brownfield Ag News.
Social support from the community is key to successfully convincing skeptical and hesitant dairy workers to get the shots, according to Rovai.
“We have been working with the hospitals, with the clinics and retail pharmacists,” said Rovai, “to encouraged them to get vaccinated, to encourage their families in getting vaccinated.”
Rovai, a Brazil native specializing in dairy veterinary medicine at SDSU, gets federal funds to make the workshops possible.
It is amazing to see Dr. Rovai’s efforts to try to reach out to the dairy farm employees of South Dakota and educate them about the COVID vaccines. We need more people like her in the rest of the country doing this work with more agricultural segments to try to get as many people as possible vaccinated. Part of the reason people feel hesitant about the vaccine is due to lack of knowledge about vaccines in general and to false information that are spread everywhere. With more people getting vaccinated we increase the odds of fighting Covid-19. Congratulations Dr. Rovai!!! I truly hope more people follow your example.