Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan offers employees paid time off for vaccine appointments

Wells Fargo will offer up to eight hours of paid leave starting March 8 to encourage all eligible global employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccines.

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“While we understand that choosing to be vaccinated is a personal decision, we encourage you to consider taking the vaccine when it is available to you,” wrote the bank’s head of human resources, David Galloreese, in a memo to employees.

In addition, Wells Fargo will expand its COVID-19 testing program, offering free on-site testing to employees in the bank’s 25 largest locations. Employees currently working at other Wells Fargo facilities, including its branch network, can order on-demand tests that can be self-administered at home.

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The fourth largest bank in the United States joins competitors JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup.

Representatives from Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase told FOX Business that qualified employees will receive up to eight hours of paid time off to accommodate vaccination appointments. In the meantime, Citigroup will provide “any paid time away from work that is reasonably necessary to travel and get the vaccine,” according to Bloomberg.

Other companies that offered similar payment incentives to employees receiving COVID-19 vaccines include Aldi’s, Amtrak, AutoZone, Best Buy, Chobani, Darden Restaurants, Dollar General, Instacart, Trader Joe’s, Kroger, Lidl, Publix, McDonald’s, Tyson Foods and Target.

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The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, developed by its pharmaceutical subsidiary Janssen, recently became the third to receive an emergency use authorization from the Food & Drug Administration and approval by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unlike previously approved vaccines from Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna, the Janssen vaccine requires a single injection.

Johnson & Johnson began shipping its initial supply of 3.9 million doses to state health departments, pharmacies, qualified federal health centers and community vaccination centers across the country this week. The company expects to deliver enough single-dose vaccines by the end of March to vaccinate more than 20 million Americans and 100 million single-dose vaccines during the first half of 2021.

An FDA analysis found that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was about 67% effective in preventing moderate to severe cases within 14 days after dosing and 66% effective against severe to critical cases after 28 days. In addition, the vaccine was approximately 77% effective in preventing severe or critical COVID-19 occurring at least 14 days after vaccination and 85% effective in preventing severe or critical COVID-19 occurring at least 28 days after vaccination .

Meanwhile, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were 95% and 94.1% effective, respectively.

According to the CDC, more than 82.5 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the United States as of Thursday.