The unvaccinated employees of Delta Airlines will be fined on the company health plan $200 a month. A policy that is well required as the average hospital stay is costing the company $50,000.
As per the insider reports by CEO Ed Bastian, most of the workers admitted to the hospital due to the coronavirus were not vaccinated. Further, the company announced that the company will lodge a new policy for unvaccinated employees and hence will not pay a protection fee for them, if they come in contact with the virus from September 30. A weekly test will be conducted on the unvaccinated staff members from September 12. Also will have to wear masks inside the company.
“This surcharge will be necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company,” Bastian said in a memo to employees.
The $200 charge will be initiated from the month of November. The company works with set insured and premium plans adminstrated by United Healthcare. On analysis, about 75% of Delta employees are fully vaccinated from 72% in mid-July.
Bastian said the aggressiveness of the leading strain of the virus “means we need to get many more of our people vaccinated, and as close to 100% as possible”.
“I know some of you may be taking a wait-and-see approach or waiting for full (Food and Drug Administration) approval,” he told employees. “With this week’s announcement that the FDA has granted full approval for the Pfizer vaccine, the time for you to get vaccinated is now.”
The newly reported case of the delta virus has surfaced to 150,000 a day one of the highest estimates since the start of the year. Even the new hires of the group are accepted to be vaccinated. More so the CEO in his speech to his employees tased about the fast-spreading virus B.1.617.
