Chris Alonzo of Pietro Industries in Kennett Square is one of many local business owners who said their employees are eager to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, writes Ximena Conde for WHYY.

Alonzo, whose mushroom farm has operated throughout the pandemic, has been encouraging his roughly 160 employees, most of whom are Latino immigrants, to commit to being vaccinated. He was somewhat surprised when he saw their overwhelming demand for the vaccine.

“Probably 90 percent of our workers want the vaccine, and they want it as quickly as possible,” he said.

However, now that the distribution of the vaccine has begun, it is not any clearer when his employees – who fall in the 1B phase – will be able to receive their shots.

“The challenging thing is that when I start to educate our workers about it, of course, the next question is, ‘Great, I want it, when can I get it?’” said Alonzo. “And I have to say one week to three months from now because we really don’t know.”

“Unfortunately, for something that’s been discussed since November, now that we’re in February, I still think the No. 1 common theme for managers and employees is confusion,” said Guy Ciarrocchi, CEO of the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry.

Read more about the vaccine at WHYY here.