Boise area employers have been forced to mandate vaccinations due to rising COVID-19 numbers and low vaccination rates. This is to restore normalcy at work.
President Joe Biden asked for employers to mandate vaccinations in August 23, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer vaccine.
Biden stated in nationally broadcast remarks that if you are a leader of a local business, nonprofit, or state, and have been waiting for FDA approval to mandate vaccinations, then I urge you to now do so. You can do what I did last month: require that your employees get vaccinated.
Before then, Idaho's largest health systems, St. Lukes, and Saint Alphonsus in Idaho, as well as the largest Boise area medical-clinic business, Primary Health announced plans to require employees to have the shot. Some Idaho nursing homes had, too. St. Lukes is Idaho's largest private sector employer.
Micron Technology Inc. in Boise, which is the state's largest for-profit employer, was also a Micron Technology Inc.
However, most of the large Boise area employers declined to follow their lead. The Idaho Statesman reached 10 employers and only two said that mandates had been implemented.
Albertsons is the most prominent, a grocery chain with over 2,000 stores across the country.
The deadline to receive the vaccine is Oct. 1, for those working in Albertsons corporate offices or division offices. Spokesperson Denise Berger stated that visitors to these buildings will need to show proof of vaccinations in order to be allowed to enter.
Albertsons grocery store employees, which make up the majority of the company's workforce, will not need to be vaccinated unless they are required to enter a corporate building. Berger stated that the company encourages everyone to get vaccinated. For those who receive the shot, the company will offer a $100 incentive.
Berger, in an email, stated that we agree with the CDC's recommendation that vaccinations be the best way to protect yourself from potential complications caused by the virus.
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Fred Meyer, another local grocery chain, stated through a spokesperson that it would not require employees get the jab, but would give them a $100 incentive.
The Statesman was also told by other Treasure Valley employers that they were encouraging their employees to get vaccinated. These include Idaho Power and J.R. Simplot Co., an agribusiness.
Simplot spokesperson Josh Jordan stated that we are constantly working to help employees understand the importance of getting the vaccine to overcome COVID-19.
Gov. Brad Little, who sent the National Guard to assist overwhelmed health-care providers this week, asked that Idahoans get vaccinated. However, he will not force state employees to do so. The executive order he issued in April prohibiting vaccine passports from being used by state agencies.
This includes Boise State University and the Department of Health and Welfare, who announced this week that rising COVID-19 numbers could force faculty and students back to remote learning.
Boise school districts and West Ada are not covered by the executive orders. They don't require employees to be vaccinated.
Blue Cross, Walmart and McDonalds declined to comment.
Delta Airlines is the second company that mandates employee vaccinations. It has 24 employees at Boise Airport.
Delta was the headline-grabbing company when it announced that employees would need to be vaccinated by November 1st or they would have to pay $200 per month to remain on the company's health insurance plan.
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