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Americans vote sadly with their wallets. It turns out that they can also get the Covid vaccine with their wallet.
In the two weeks since Delta Air Lines announced a monthly health insurance surcharge of $ 200 for unvaccinated employees, 20% of unvaccinated Delta employees have already received the vaccine, Dr. Henry Ting, director of health for Delta, at an Infectious Disease Society of America briefing. Thusday. “I think [that’s] a large number in terms of displacement of this group which is the most reluctant, ”he said.
Of the airline’s 80,000 employees, 20,000 remain unvaccinated, added Ting, who is also an assistant professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and Professor Emeritus at Mayo School of Medicine. Clinic.
The surcharge was first announced on August 25 and will go into effect on November 1. It aims to motivate people to get vaccinated against Covid and to “respond to the financial risk” that comes with choosing not to get vaccinated, said Delta CEO Ed. Bastian wrote in the memo to the employee announcing the move. The airline calculated that the average medical cost associated with a hospital stay for Covid-19 cost the company $ 50,000 per person.
Such a wave of vaccination among the ranks of Delta is somewhat surprising: recent surveys have shown that paying people to be vaccinated is not enough to influence those who are strongly opposed to vaccination. But the airline’s negative financial incentive clearly resonated.
The announcement dropped Delta’s vaccination rate from 74% to 78% in just two weeks, according to Ting, who noted that the airline’s current unvaccinated population represents a cohort of people who are “the most reluctant. of all groups, nationally or at Delta Air Lines. “These people are on the fence, have questions and want to do more research to make a decision on their own timeline,” he said.
Covid vaccines are rigorously researched, reviewed, and evaluated for safety and effectiveness by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A large amount of data shows that vaccines effectively protect against Covid.
Ting said he continues to meet with employees one-on-one to educate them on the importance of vaccination, in the hope that they will speed up their personal deadlines.
Notably, the Atlanta-based airline did not see employee resignations increase following the announcement, Ting said at the briefing. According to the Society of Human Resource Management, less than 2% of people say they would rather quit their jobs than be forced to take the Covid vaccine.
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