Butterball, LLC has begun to offer COVID-19 vaccines for eligible members of its North Carolina workforce through coordinated efforts with local health departments and onsite vaccination clinics. Last week, the company hosted an onsite clinic at its Mount Olive, N.C. facility in conjunction with the Duplin County Health Department to vaccinate team members age 65 and older who are eligible for the vaccine through North Carolina’s vaccine Group 2. The company is also working to schedule additional on-site clinics for all its frontline workforce as part of vaccine Group 3 in the coming weeks as vaccines are available.

“Last week’s event at Butterball went smoothly and was a great experience. The Duplin County Health Department, along with our community partners, is eager to beginning vaccinating Group 3 frontline workers in the food and agriculture sector,” said Dr. Tracey Simmons-Kornegay, Duplin County Health director. “The vaccine is a great way for us to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in conjunction with the three Ws—wear a mask, wait six feet apart and wash your hands.”

Team members getting vaccinated shared their reasons why they were eager to take the vaccine when it was offered. They shared personal reasons like being able to safely visit their grandchildren and protecting themselves and their coworkers, as well as a desire for a return to normalcy and do things like travel, go out to eat and go to sporting events again.

“Butterball is ready and excited to secure vaccines for all our team members. Our teams have worked incredibly hard throughout the pandemic to keep food on all our tables and we’re grateful North Carolina recognizes their priority in the vaccine rollout,” said Butterball President and CEO Jay Jandrain. “We’ve put many safety precautions in place to help protect our workforce, but the vaccine is the strongest tool we have to safeguard our communities. Right now, we are focused on providing information to help our teams make the best-informed decision for themselves and their families.”

To date in North Carolina, Butterball has been able to offer vaccines for team members 65 and older as well as members of the company’s occupational health and safety teams. Vaccination efforts are also underway in the company’s Missouri and Arkansas operations.