Meat Institute continues to urge for vaccination prioritization to meat plant workers. USDA’s Office of the Inspector General is initiating an audit of USDA actions that may have contributed to the spread of COVID-19 in meat processing facilities and other agricultural processing facilities. The USDA OIG initiated this audit in response to a request made by Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., in August. “Early in the pandemic, meat processing plants saw some of the highest rates of COVID-19 infections, harming a workforce predominantly comprised of immigrants, refugees, and people of ...