More employers join push to get staff vaccinated

To continue reading please register or login to your OHW+ account.

A number of employers have joined forces in a further government-backed push to ensure as many people as possible receive the Covid vaccine. Amazon, Molson Coors, Sky and Three UK are the latest companies to join the list of employers publicly committing to encourage vaccinations among staff. The announcement follows a push in May to get a million staff vaccinated, backed by organisations such as IKEA, Asda, Metro Bank and Merlin Entertainments. As part of the commitment, the employers pledge to promote positive vaccination messages and offer employees flexibility in terms of shifts and hours so they can attend vaccine appointments. They have also promised to provide sick pay for employees who need to take time off for minor side effects such as fever or a headache. Professional networking site LinkedIn has committed to offer free advertising to target CEOs and directors to support vaccination promotion, signposting them to the government’s employer toolkit. Amazon has set up a laboratory in Manchester where employees can take polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests if they wish. PCR tests are more reliable than lateral flow tests, which are currently encouraged twice-weekly for those attending school or a workplace. It has also launched variant analysis at its lab so it can support public health authorities to understand the virus. According to the latest government statistics, almost 46 million adults have received the