Dollar General will be one of the first large U.S. retailers to incentivize its employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The bargain retailer said that it will give its employees a half day’s pay if they get vaccinated, according to the Wall Street Journal, an offer extended to its 157,000 employees.
The United States has distributed more than 29 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s vaccines across the country. To date, more than 10 million people have received the first dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the U.S. is “way behind” on its vaccine administration program, and some pharmacies have begun offering vaccinations to random people when people fail to show up for scheduled appointments.
As states gradually expand the pool of individuals who can receive the vaccine, grocery stores, airlines, and other companies that rely on in-person exchanges have pushed to get their employees vaccinated as soon as possible, especially for hourly workers who have struggled with juggling work, child care, education, and transportation concerns.
Essential workers, which includes front-line healthcare workers and store employees like those at Dollar General, have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic, where “workplace exposures have become the fulcrum of the epidemic,” according to a report from the Department of Labor.
“We felt the right thing to do was to break down these barriers to vaccination,” Dollar General Chief Todd Voss said, adding that he hoped the incentive would prevent expenses associated with getting the vaccine, such as scheduling time off and coordinating child care, to keep workers from getting vaccinated as soon as possible.
Voss noted the need to “get [the vaccine] to rural America.” Roughly three-quarters of all Dollar General stores are in rural areas and small towns.
The store also said that it would grant paid time off to employees who experience adverse reactions to the vaccine.
Many experts have applauded the move and expressed hope that other companies will follow suit.
“The [vaccine] prioritization costs them nothing but comes with the great benefit of having inoculated staff who may feel more comfortable working and give shoppers comfort,” Brookings Institution’s Molly Kinder said. “It minimizes the interruption of people falling ill and needing time off or medical attention.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Dollar General for further comment.
