Mercer Joins New Coalition Backing COVID-19 Vaccine Efforts
Mercer is joining with other businesses and public health groups in a joint effort to provide employers with an array of tools to create COVID-19 policies and encourage employees to get vaccinated.
The Health Action Alliance, launched last week, offers a number of resources through its website including templates for emails to workers about vaccines, a guide to setting comprehensive COVID-19 policies, and examples of company programs to support public health. The effort comes as employers consider voluntary programs or incentives to boost vaccination rates among employees rather than imposing a mandate.
In addition to promoting vaccination education, the Alliance aims to support COVID-19 prevention, stronger public health infrastructure, and the needs of disproportionately affected communities. Tools on its website include a sample email for CEOs to send to employees about vaccines, a guide to setting company policies on vaccination and educating employees and local communities, a sample letter to offer funds to local health departments, and Spanish language materials. Events include a business summit on vaccines on March 9 featuring Center for Disease Control Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
The Alliance is led by the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs leading the largest US companies; the Ad Council, a nonprofit that creates public service campaigns; the CDC Foundation, a congressionally established nonprofit that supports Centers for Disease Control and Prevention efforts; and public health organizations the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and de Beaumont Foundation.
The employer community “has an important role to play in sharing with employees and the broader community where they operate the importance of vaccination to help defeat the pandemic and lead our country toward a robust economic recovery,” Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten said in a statement.
Participating companies include Walmart Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Target Corporation, CVS Health Corp., Comcast, and Facebook, Inc.
Very few companies — primarily health care providers — are mandating the vaccination as a condition for returning to work or a condition of employment, according to new Mercer survey data cited by the Alliance. Among Mercer’s findings:
- Mandating vaccines will be the exception, not the rule –– fewer than 1% of respondents have plans to mandate vaccinations for employees, and only 20% are even considering it.
- A larger share of employers are considering offering a financial incentive (although only 7% have definitely decided to do so) and nearly half (48%) plan to provide paid time off to get vaccinated.
- A quarter (25%) have taken steps to provide or facilitate vaccinations for their employees.
Most of the companies surveyed are developing a communication plan to encourage their employees to get vaccinated. According to Mercer research director Beth Umland, the single most effective type of messaging may simply be sharing the vaccination experiences of company leaders. However, only 30% of the survey respondents are currently planning to use leadership examples in their employee communications.
As vaccine shipments increase across the country, employers also must deal with a number of other important considerations, including the cost implications of covering the vaccine and its administration and potential back-to-work safety protocols.
Health Action Alliance is hosting a National Business Summit on COVID-19 Vaccines on Tuesday, March 9 from 2:00pm - 3:30pm EST, and will feature remarks from CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten and top business leaders. Register today at: https://hlthact.org/bizsummit