An FDA data analysis tool has been offered to the national COVID-19 vaccination program to help prioritize food & beverage manufacturing workers and avoid interruptions in the food supply.

FDA created 21 Forward to help the agency inform its response to the pandemic. Now, through a partnership with Operation Warp Speed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and USDA, data from 21 Forward is being made available to assist states with their planning efforts for vaccine distribution.

21 Forward was developed to help the FDA identify wher risks for interruptions in the continuity of the food supply may be the greatest because of the pandemic. Early in the pandemic, workers in the food and agriculture sector were identified by the Dept. of Homeland Security as being among essential critical infrastructure workers, meaning that their ability to do their job safely is critical to our society’s ability to function.

The software tool indicates the numbers and distribution of food and agriculture sector employees who work at FDA-regulated facilities. As vaccines are delivered across the country in the coming weeks and months, the 21 Forward data will provide state and local officials with information to help determine how many food and agriculture workers they have in each county and wher theyre located.

USDA data also is helping identify and quantify workers in meat, poultry and egg processing establishments.