Paid Time Off For Employees Boosts Vaccination: Study

A year-and-a-half later, COVID-19 is still here.

The Delta variant is surging, specifically in places like the American southeast.

But no state is truly spared as deaths from the virus total more than 600,000, new cases have surpassed 100,000 daily and vaccinations are stalling at about 50% of American residents.

In the midst of all this, the federal government is considering mandating vaccinations for its employees, and many large companies are beginning to do so as well, with United Airlines UAL becoming the first U.S. airline to mandate vaccinations for its employees.

Even so, there’s an urgent need for methods to more quickly get shots into arms. A new Kaiser Family Foundation study may have some answers, particularly for the unvaccinated and employed.

The study found that two-thirds of employed adults reported being more likely to get vaccinated if their employers encouraged them to do so, and half said they would get the vaccine if their company gave them paid time off to do so, regardless of the employee’s demographic background.

Why It Matters: Many believe that the delta variant isn’t just slowing America’s economy, but also several economies around the world. The best way to fight against the variant is for more of the world’s population to get vaccinated.

Some management experts believe best practices for encouraging vaccinations include having employers get vaccinated first, prompting managers to attentively listen to their employees’ concerns and giving managers time to explain where employees can get the vaccine.

Many doctors want vaccines to be mandatory, but many business leaders — 83% of employers — don’t feel prepared to mandate vaccines for their employees, according to a Fisher Phillips survey. Even so, more than 70% of employers are encouraging their employees to get vaccinated.

What Else: Some answers to vaccination questions lie in our partisan differences. Over 60% of Democrats report living in an all-vaccinated home, while almost 40% of Republicans report the opposite, according to the Kaiser study.

While 76% of adults are optimistic the pandemic will soon be over, that hopeful outlook may be hampering about half of unvaccinated people from getting the shot, as they say the number of COVID-19 cases is too low for them to get vaccinated.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated American Airlines became the first U.S. airline to mandate vaccinations for its employees.

Photo: Markus Spiske via Unsplash.