Goldman Sachs requires on-site workers and customers to be vaccinated

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Goldman Sachs will require proof of vaccination from all staff and customers entering bank offices as vaccination warrants proliferate in the US public and private sectors after BioNTech / Pfizer Covid-19 jab receives approval full regulatory.

The company said the requirement would apply to anyone visiting its offices from September 7, and any employee who was not fully vaccinated would have to work from home.

From the same date, Goldman will also include fully vaccinated staff in its mandatory weekly Covid-19 testing schedule, which currently applies to unvaccinated or partially vaccinated staff. It will also require the wearing of masks in the common areas of its buildings from Wednesday, whether or not people are vaccinated.

Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase were among the most aggressive Wall Street firms in urging staff to return to the office. They made at least part-time office work mandatory for most employees earlier this summer. Morgan Stanley told employees and customers in July that they couldn’t enter its New York City offices without being vaccinated.

Now is the time for the public and private sectors to come together, listen to the science and mandate immunization

Goldman’s decision to impose the vaccine came a day after a Food and Drug Administration announcement granting full approval for the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine, which many employers hesitant to require vaccinations were waiting for.

Rich Lesser, managing director of the Boston Consulting Group, wrote to clients on Tuesday that he expected FDA approval to prompt more public and private organizations to introduce warrants.

While few companies with new vaccination requirements said FDA approval was the deciding factor, the regulator’s move was quickly followed by announcements from companies like Deloitte and CVS Health.

Deloitte, the professional services firm, said it would require proof of vaccination for staff accessing its U.S. facilities starting Oct. 11, which it said was “seven weeks after full FDA approval. of a major vaccine “.

CVS Health, which has a health insurer and pharmacy benefits manager as well as its namesake drugstore chain, said it would require company staff and employees who interact with patients to be fully immunized by now. at the end of October and that in-store pharmacists be vaccinated. by the end of November.

The Service Trades Council Union, which represents the cast members of Disney World, also said Monday it had reached an agreement that all employees should show proof of vaccination by October 22.

The Business Roundtable, which represents America’s largest companies in Washington, applauded companies that had already decided to require vaccines for some or all of their employees.

A sign of the impatience of business leaders with officials who have threatened retaliation for measures requiring proof of vaccination – including Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott, Republican governors of Florida and Texas respectively – the BRT urged local and state political decision-makers “to support – not hinder – the ability of companies to make such a decision”.

The American Medical Association also gave weight to the mandates on Tuesday, saying, “Now is the time for the public and private sectors to come together, listen to the science and mandate immunization.”

Incentives such as lotteries, in which some states have offered cash prizes or scholarships to people who get vaccinated, haven’t stopped hospitals from being overwhelmed by the wave of Delta variants, said Gerald Harmon, WADA president, in a statement: The benefit in this fight is to demand vaccinations – especially vaccination warrants. “

The United States averaged about 141,100 new infections per day during the week ended August 23, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is the highest level since the end of January and represents an increase of 1,110% from the seven-day average in mid-June, which was the lowest point for 2021.

Several US cities and states are planning to require frontline healthcare workers and other public employees to be vaccinated or tested regularly.

California became the first state in the United States to require all school staff to show proof of vaccination or be tested at least once a week, a model from New Jersey said this week that it would also employ. New York City went further on Monday, with Mayor Bill de Blasio announcing that all public school staff should be vaccinated unless they have a medical or religious exemption.

A poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about six in ten Americans support vaccinations are mandatory for eligible teachers and students.

Pressure for more widespread vaccination is also mounting in the world of sport, where leaders and league directors are moving away from being allowed to reschedule matches to accommodate Covid-19 epidemics.

Several of the most powerful college sports leagues in the United States, including the Big Ten, Southeastern, and Atlantic Coast conferences, are putting in place policies that will force teams to forgo games if they encounter too many cases.

The new conditions could have a drastic impact on the lucrative college football season, where playoff spots are determined in part by the number of games played and wins against ranked teams.

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