This story about United Airlines’ vaccination mandate program is very gratifying. It shows that companies who take the virus seriously and enact policies to require vaccines not only spare their staff and customers from the disease, they are rewarded by the public as well:
Scott Kirby, the chief executive of United Airlines, reached a breaking point while vacationing in Croatia this summer: After receiving word that a 57-year-old United pilot had died after contracting the coronavirus, he felt it was time to require all employees to get vaccinated.
He paced for about half an hour and then called two of his top executives. “We concluded enough is enough,” Mr. Kirby said in an interview on Thursday. “People are dying, and we can do something to stop that with United Airlines.”
The company announced its vaccine mandate days later, kicking off a two-month process that ended last Monday. Mr. Kirby’s team had guessed that no more than 70 percent of the airline’s workers were already vaccinated, and the requirement helped convince most of the rest: Nearly all of United’s 67,000 U.S. employees have been vaccinated, in one of the largest and most successful corporate efforts of the kind during the pandemic.
They worried about blowback from the loud anti-vaxers but it turned out there were a lot more people who were grateful for their efforts:
United executives said they were surprised that positive feedback from politicians, customers and the public far outweighed the criticism it received.
Customers thanked the airline, and job applicants said they were excited to join a company that took employee safety seriously. United has received 20,000 applications for about 2,000 flight attendant positions, a much higher ratio than before the pandemic.
There has been some resistance. Last month, six employees sued United, arguing that its plans to put exempt employees on temporary leave — unpaid in many circumstances — are discriminatory. United has delayed that plan for at least a few weeks as it fights the suit.
Still, United’s vaccination rate has continued to improve. There was another rush before the deadline to receive the pay incentive and one more before the final Sept. 27 deadline. Toward the end of September, the company said 593 people had failed to comply. By Friday, the number had dropped below 240.
“I did not appreciate the intensity of support for a vaccine mandate that existed, because you hear that loud anti-vax voice a lot more than you hear the people that want it,” Mr. Kirby said. “But there are more of them. And they’re just as intense.”
I think this point has been under-emphasized. There are a lot more people who believe that people who work with the public should be vaccinated than there are who don’t. Even some number of otherwise daft Trumpers want the country to be vaccinated. This vocal minority of contrarian, conspiracy mongers has killed a couple hundred thousand people and most of the country is appalled by that. There’s not much individuals can do to make them change their minds but the data on these vaccine mandates by employers is very good. They work.
I am personally interested in knowing which businesses are doing it because it will guide my decisions about whether to use them. This story indicates that it may very well be a selling point for many of them.