Sanderson CEO: COVID-19 vaccine ‘is the big deal’

Joe F. Sanderson Jr., CEO of Sanderson Farms, says the United States is definitely going through a second wave of COVID-19 cases.

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(Synel | Bigstock)
(Synel | Bigstock)

Joe F. Sanderson Jr., CEO of Sanderson Farms, says the United States is definitely going through a second wave of COVID-19 cases.

However, leader of the third largest poultry company in the United States believes the current state of the pandemic will not be as impactful on the poultry industry as the next year will be. Sanderson addressed his concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic while speaking at the Stephens Annual Investment Conference on November 18.

“This is a second wave going on right now, for sure,” said Sanderson. “What professionals told us what was going to happen when it started to get colder and people started congregating inside, it’s happening. A lot of people are not wearing masks. That’s a shame. It’s not a hard thing to do. They’re not distancing. They’re not doing simple things they could to protect themselves and others.”

While the next 90 days will be challenging, Sanderson is more concerned about what will happen once a vaccine for the coronavirus is approved and distributed.

“I’m concerned about the vaccine getting distributed (and) people taking the vaccination. That’s what will get us out of this,” said Sanderson. “The next 90 days is not the big deal. The next year and the distribution and application of the vaccine is the big deal. How many people are going to take it? How many people are going to be afraid to take it? That, to me is the most important thing we need to be concerned about.”

Current challenges

Prior to addressing his concerns about the vaccine, Sanderson said there were reports that the surge in COVID-19 cases is resulting in restaurant closures and another round of panic buying, leading to bare meat and poultry sections at grocery stores. This particularly seems to be the case in California, he said.

“We might have to run some processing plants on Saturday to fill meat cases on the West Coast,” Sanderson added.

View our continuing coverage of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.

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