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Delta Air Lines announced a new policy for workers who have yet to receive their COVID-19 vaccine. It was said that currently, almost 75% of the air carrier’s employees have already been vaccinated.
A quarter still needs to get their shots against coronavirus, and Delta Air Lines is pushing for them to do so, and it must be soon. The company stated that all unvaccinated employees would have to pay a $200 monthly surcharge.
Apparently, the airline is aiming to have its entire workforce to be fully inoculated, so those who are still refusing will have to pay the price. According to Fox Business, the Atlanta, Georgia-headquartered air carrier will start imposing the hefty surcharge fee on Nov. 1, so everyone in the company must be vaccinated by then.
The company’s chief executive officer, Ed Bastian, said that this new policy is really necessary to protect the workers and the customers as well. Also, he noted that the cost of treatment at the hospital for COVID-19 patients per person is around $50,000, so they must ask everyone to get their shots, especially now with the rising cases of the delta variant.
"This surcharge will be necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company," the CEO said via a memo to workers. "All Delta employees who have been hospitalized with COVID were not fully vaccinated."
It was also outlined in the memo that Delta Air Lines will no longer extend pay protection to unvaccinated employees who will contract coronavirus starting Sept. 30. All unvaxxed workers will also be required to get tested for COVID-19 every week from Sept. 12, and this will be paid for by the company. Under the new policy, everyone must also wear masks when indoors in any of the company’s facilities.
The Guardian reported that the company also teamed up with the state of Georgia to run the largest vaccination site for the residents of the territory. It was said that at least 35% of the state’s mass vaccination is being carried out at the Delta Flight Museum.
Meanwhile, the memo from Delta Air Lines CEO about the new policy regarding vaccination came after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it has granted Pfizer full approval as an official COVID-19 vaccine.
