In a domino effect fashion, an increasing number of private companies are beginning to implement vaccination mandates as employers plot returns to the office amid the latest surge in COVID-19 infections.
The matter is hotly contested, with some complaining that the mandates are unfair to those who don’t wish to get vaccinated and others hailing the decisions as progress in vanquishing the ever-evolving virus.
The delta variant of the virus has proven to be wildly contagious. It has been the main contributor to a 139% increase in infections and a 92% increase in hospitalizations over the past two weeks. In grappling with delta, companies including Delta Air Lines, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Tyson Foods, and many others have been implementing some form of vaccination requirement, particularly for employees to be permitted back into the office.
Michael Urban, a senior lecturer and the director of the doctorate of occupational therapy program at the University of New Haven, told the Washington Examiner that the increase in companies mandating vaccinations is likely a combination of delta variant concerns and the desire to move workers back into the office after months of remote work.
He also pointed out that office outbreaks can be expensive and mandating the vaccine can cut down on the costs of reopening an office and having employees come back in only for it to shutter because a worker got sick.
“It’s costly for these companies to be open and shut down and have to pay for a deep cleaning,” he said, noting that having that happen every few weeks would add up.
Mandating vaccines could have an upside to those who are not in the office, too, according to Urban. For example, suppose a family member received a mandatory vaccine for work. In that case, the person might feel more comfortable encouraging vaccine-hesitant family members to get inoculated, which could bring down infections overall, Urban explained.
Companies are handling the mandates in different ways. For example, Salesforce employees are only allowing those vaccinated to return to the office but are giving them plenty of time to do so as all employees were given the option of working remotely until the end of the year. Meanwhile, Union Square Hospitality Group, which owns several restaurants, is requiring all employees to be vaccinated by Labor Day and will extend that mandate to diners.
New York City is also testing the limits on mandates. Taking a page out of France’s book, the city will require customers at indoor dining, gyms, and entertainment venues to prove they are vaccinated.
“If you want to participate in our society fully, you’ve got to get vaccinated,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
M. Saif Mehkari, an associate professor of economics at the University of Richmond, told the Washington Examiner that mandating the vaccine is a mixed bag, with positive and negative implications for the economy. He pointed out that there is political and socioeconomic polarization when it comes to COVID-19 vaccination in general.
A Washington Post-ABC poll found that 86% of Democrats have had at least one shot compared to only 45% of Republicans. In addition, a survey from Gallup found stark differences in education, with 31% of those without a college degree, and thus likely having lower-wage jobs, expressing vaccine hesitancy compared to only 12% of college graduates.
Mehkari explained that companies are playing into that polarization when mandating vaccines, which can be either a good thing for the business or have a detrimental impact, depending upon who the employees are that require vaccination.
“If you’ve got a bunch of employees who feel unsafe coming to work, the vaccine mandate really helps,” he said. “On the flip side, though, if you’ve got a bunch of workers who are not for the vaccine, then the vaccine mandate really hurts because we know that the market is super tight right now, especially at the lower income levels.”
Mehkari was referring to the labor market, which has been affected by worker shortages. Despite the economy heating up quickly and the gross domestic product rebounding at record rates, some employers are struggling to recruit workers and have been forced to raise wages and offer other incentives, such as signing bonuses, to attract the interest of applicants.
He said that in these lower-wage positions, mandating vaccines could cause further strain as workers might be more hesitant to get a shot than higher-educated employees in the corporate world.
One example of how some large corporations deal with the vaccine hesitancy split and their bottom lines is implementing hybrid vaccine-mandate models.
Walmart, the largest private employer globally, now requires vaccines for corporate workers in its headquarters and managers who travel within the country. However, it will not require the most vulnerable employees, store and warehouse workers, to get vaccinated. However, the company recently doubled its cash vaccine incentive to $150 for those employees who aren’t mandated.
“As we all know, the pandemic is not over, and the delta variant has led to an increase in infection rates across much of the U.S.,” CEO Doug McMillon said in a memo to employees. “We want to get to a place where we can use our offices and be together safely.”
Further growth of vaccine mandates, or expansion to lower-wage positions, will likely depend on how the delta variant pans out over the coming weeks and months. The vaccines in U.S. circulation, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, are being distributed under emergency use authorizations from the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA granting final approval might also encourage companies to begin requiring shots to return to the office.
And while they are being referred to as “mandates,” in many cases, there are still ways for people to opt out of getting the vaccine for religious reasons or health concerns. In those cases, the employer might offer an alternative, such as masking or requirements for regular testing for the virus and providing those results to management.
Mehkari said the sudden deluge of companies requiring vaccines was likely also a result of a domino effect in which executives see other similar businesses mandating shots and feel they should follow suit. The trend is visible in the world of finance, where several firms have begun asking their employees to get vaccinated.
Investment giant Blackrock said only vaccinated employees can return to the office and that all employees must report their vaccination status. Goldman Sachs and Jefferies Group employees have also been required to share their vaccination status to enter the office.
“We require that, after Labor Day, anyone who is not fully vaccinated should continue to work from home, which fortunately has proven to be highly effective,” Jefferies Group CEO Rich Handler and President Brian Friedman said in a memo. “We will closely monitor the situation and be ready to pivot and adapt whenever needed.”
Regardless of the reasons and protests from some who refuse to get inoculated, it appears the shift toward vaccine mandates will likely become more commonplace, and going shotless will be cemented as the exception to the rule.
