Cargill clinic immunizes 1,638 workers, a 'bright spot of hope' in COVID storm

Cargill Clinic Immunizes 1,638 Workers, a "Bright Spot of Hope" in COVID Storm
Calgary Herald, May 2, 2021

An on-site COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Cargill meat-packing plant in High River immunized 1,638 workers in just a day and a half, surpassing its original three-day target and exhausting the full vaccine supply ahead of schedule. Dr. Gabriel Fabreau and Dr. Annalee Coakley co-led the clinic alongside plant nurse Katie Robinson, calling it "an unmitigated, unbelievable success."

The clinic carried particular significance given Cargill's history as the site of the largest workplace COVID-19 outbreak in North America, where more than 950 workers tested positive and two died during the first wave. Dr. Fabreau and Dr. Coakley had spent months prior rebuilding community trust in public health through town halls and working to address vaccine hesitancy among workers facing language, socioeconomic, and transportation barriers.

The result served as a proof of concept for targeted, community-based vaccination, with Dr. Fabreau calling for the province to expand the model to other high-risk populations including communities in Calgary's northeast. "This is one example where it makes sense for our collective public health goals of trying to end this pandemic and prevent deaths to address these inequities," he said.

Read the full article on the Calgary Herald.