In the United States - this is old news - the health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic is much more serious than in any other country in the world.
More than 23 million people have contracted the coronavirus here, and nearly 400,000 have lost their lives since the start of the outbreak.
For that reason, Americans anxiously waited for drug companies to make an effective vaccine.
But more than a month after the country approved the emergency use of the first one, Pfizer-BioNTech, an alarming percentage of people have said they don't want to get vaccinated.
A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that
27% of Americans "doubt whether they will get the vaccine"
against COVID-19, saying they will likely or definitely not get one.
Among healthcare workers, who have priority to receive the injection, that number is even higher: 29%.
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People would be more incentivized to get the vaccine if the federal government gives them cash payments for injecting, Robert Litan, an economist affiliated with the Brookings Institution, told NPR.
But neither the Trump Administration nor Joe Biden's transition team have discussed this possibility.
Meanwhile, some US companies have already announced initiatives to get their employees vaccinated, with incentives ranging from money to time to make their appointment.
These are some of them:
✔️
Instacart
The San Francisco, California-based grocery delivery service announced Thursday that beginning February 1, it will provide a $ 25 stipend to workers who receive the vaccine.
According to Apoorva Mehta, founder and CEO of Instacart, the idea is that workers "don't have to choose between earning an income as providers of essential services or getting vaccinated."
✔️
Trader Joe´s
The Trader Joe's supermarket chain, which has more than 50,000 employees, said Thursday that it will give its workers two hours' pay for each dose of the vaccine they receive (both Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines provide better protection after of the second injection).
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The Monrovia, California-based company said it will also make hours more flexible to make sure employees - from those who work at the cash registers to those who clean the floor - have time to schedule an appointment and get vaccinated.
✔️
Dollar General
The Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based retail chain said Wednesday it will give hourly employees the equivalent of four hours of pay if they get the vaccine.
Workers who work for wages will also be compensated for the time they spend making an appointment and injecting, according to a statement.
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Dollar General employs 157,000 people, according to the company.
✔️ Other companies, such as
Target, DoorDash and Albertsons
, have said that they will not offer bonuses to their employees for vaccines, but that they are trying to make sure their workers have access to immunization soon.
What if employees don't want to get vaccinated? Can they be fired?
The answer is yes.
But with a few exceptions.
Employers can require their workers to take safety measures, including vaccination against diseases and viruses.
That doesn't necessarily mean someone will be fired if they refuse, but you may need to sign a waiver, or agree to work under specific conditions to limit any risk of contagion to others.
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"Employers generally have a wide latitude" to set rules in the workplace,
Dorit Reiss, a law professor who specializes in vaccine policy at the University of California Hastings School of Law
, told
The Associated
Press.
"The business is owned by them."
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has allowed companies to require vaccines against flu and other diseases, and has also indicated that they can require vaccines against COVID-19.
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But there are exceptions.
For example, people can apply for exemptions for medical or religious reasons.
Although employers may require vaccination,
there are also reasons why they may not want to.
Following compliance with mandatory vaccination would be an administrative burden for some companies, which would also have to handle exemption requests, not to mention any legal claims that might arise.
For these reasons, employers are likely to strongly encourage vaccination, but not make it mandatory.
With information from CNBC and The Associated Press
