Tyson Gives Covid Vaccine to Workers at North Carolina Plant

(Bloomberg) -- Tyson Foods Inc., the biggest U.S. meat company, started giving coronavirus vaccines to workers at a poultry plant in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

Vaccines had been administered to many nurses and health-services staff in a partnership with Matrix Medical Network, said Derek Burleson, a spokesman for Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson.

“Yesterday was the first time the vaccine was administered at a Tyson facility to team members who aren't classified as medical professionals,” Burleson said. Workers were eligible for the vaccine in North Carolina under the second phase of the distribution that includes those 65 and older, and 45 people got the shot, he said.

The meat industry was roiled by the initial outbreak of the pandemic almost a year ago with thousands of plant workers catching the virus and hundreds dying. Tyson said on May 20 that 570 people at its Wilkesboro facility tested positive out of 2,244 employees and contractors.

Poultry producer Foster Farms LLC earlier said this week it was providing 1,000 of its employees with the vaccine.

Tyson's shares rose 1.2% to $66.28 at 2:30 p.m. New York time.

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