COVID-19 | Environmental Health Sciences Center

Effects of COVID-19 and Wildfires on California's Farmworkers

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine's Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources held a public session on wildfires on December 8, 2020. Dr. Kent Pinkerton, Director of the UC Davis Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (WCAHS), and Heather Riden, WCAHS Agricultural Health and Safety Program Director, presented on the ways the pandemic and wildfires are intersecting and affecting California's farmworker communities. Video of their presentations (beginning at 1:40) and PowerPoint slides are below.

COVID-19: On the frontlines with Allison Yañez

COVID-19 Survey for Workers aimed to understand how workers and their families have been affected by COVID-19 pandemic at home and on the job.

We are grateful to share stories of some of the people that we met during the course of the project.

COVID-19: On the frontlines with Alison Young

COVID-19 Survey for Workers aimed to understand how workers and their families have been affected by COVID-19 pandemic at home and on the job.

We are grateful to share stories of some of the people that we met during the course of the project.

COVID-19 and Environmental Justice

COVID-19 research

COVID-19 is a disaster on an epic scale that has turned our lives upside down.

Beyond the numbers of cases, deaths, and the unemployed, are the real impacts on individuals and their families. A pandemic of this magnitude and suddenness demands quick action from decision-makers. However, information about workers, their health, their economic security, and their needs remains incomplete. The goal of this research project is to understand how workers and their families have been affected by COVID-19 pandemic at home and on the job.

What environmental factors affect health?

It’s not just what you’re exposed to that matters

The truth is, it’s challenging to pin down exactly what factors cause an environmental health problem. Health problems related to the environment are complex and develop for a variety of reasons, including how likely a person’s genes are to develop a disease or condition (scientists call this genetic susceptibility). What we do know is that an environmental health problem is likely linked to physical, biological and even economic factors.