A look into how some companies have led the charge…and succeeded
The evidence is clear: vaccine mandates are not only lawful, they’re also effective. Workplaces enforcing them are seeing vaccination rates of 90% or higher, according to an NPR report. But there’s one notable sector where the mandates may not be working as well — check out the findings below.
Prime example
United Airlines has most clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of these mandates when it became the lone carrier in early August to require that its employees get vaccinated, with 99.5% of its staff immunized. Now, nearly every major airline has followed suit in light of President Biden’s vaccine plan that requires all government contractors like airlines to make sure their workforce is fully vaccinated by at least Dec. 8.
There’s evidence elsewhere too
Tyson Foods announced a vaccine mandate in early August and since then, its employee vaccination rate has gone from 50% to more than 91%. The NBA and major hospital systems like Houston Methodist boast even higher vaccination rates.
The driving factors
A mix of factors, including job security, is pushing even the most reluctant workers to get the vaccine — and that seems to be the case for government workers and professional basketball players alike. “The only options [were] to get vaccinated or not play in the NBA,” Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins said at a news conference, after reluctantly getting the jab.
An exception?
Though the military’s vaccination rates have climbed since August, hundreds of thousands of U.S. service members remain unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated against the coronavirus as the Pentagon’s first round of deadlines inches closer. Since these deadlines vary from branch to branch anywhere from November to June, some worry that the gaps between each could jeopardize the military’s readiness in times of a crisis.
“You’re allowing a lot of room for people not to be deployable,” says Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who also happens to be a former Marine.
Still, it’s worth noting that not every military branch is having issues: 90% of the active-duty Navy is fully vaccinated. Katherine L. Kuzminski, a military policy expert, told The Washington Post that this could have something last year’s outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt.
