Companies are giving employees time off and extra money to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
Instacart’s online grocery delivery service announced a “Covid-19 Vaccine Support Bag” on Thursday, which provides $ 25 for shift leads, in-store buyers and full-service buyers who get vaccinated from the 1st of February.
The idea is to ensure that “Instacart buyers do not have to choose between earning income as a provider of essential services or getting vaccinated,” said Apoorva Mehta, founder and CEO of Instacart, in a statement.
Mehta also advocates that independent buyers hired by Instacart have priority access to the vaccine. (Although grocery workers are recommended to be included in phase 1b of vaccination, Instacart buyers are not recognized by the government as essential workers.)
Even with scheduled appointments, some people who are eligible for the vaccine have had queues and waits in many states.
The popular Trader Joe’s supermarket chain will reimburse employees with two hours of payment per dose of vaccine received and take steps to ensure that “Crew Members” (employees responsible for tasks such as working at cash registers, receiving and unloading deliveries, stocking shelves, building displays, floor cleaning, etc.) have time to schedule a meeting, Trader spokesman Joe Kenya Friend-Daniel told CNBC Make It.
Dollar General also announced on Wednesday that it would be giving a one-time payment equal to four hours’ pay to frontline hourly staff members after being vaccinated. The salaried team will also have accommodations to make up for the time spent on the vaccine, according to a statement.
From a legal perspective, employers may require employees to be vaccinated before returning to work, as long as they allow reasonable accommodation for those with medical problems or religious exemptions.
Although these retailers do not require employees to be vaccinated, programs like this can encourage people to receive the vaccine to make them feel safer at work. According to Pew data released in December, 60% of Americans say they would definitely or probably receive a coronavirus vaccine.
Robert Litan, an economist affiliated with the Brookings Institution, told NPR that giving people cash payments for being vaccinated by the federal government would encourage people to get the vaccine. (Of course, this would theoretically cost the government hundreds of billions of dollars to finance.)
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease specialist, said 80% of the population needs to be vaccinated to obtain collective immunity.
Output check: CVS is on a wave of hiring for thousands of workers before the Covid vaccine is implemented in stores
Don’t miss: The best credit cards for building credit 2021