Delta Air Lines Inc. is stepping up efforts to get employees vaccinated against Covid-19, introducing measures including weekly testing requirements and a $200 monthly health insurance surcharge for employees who don’t take the vaccines.
The airline’s moves come amid growing pressure on companies to mandate vaccines for employees, particularly now that the Food and Drug Administration this week gave full approval for use of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE. President Biden this week called on private employers to require vaccines.
“I know some of you may be taking a wait-and-see approach or waiting for full FDA approval,” Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian wrote to employees Wednesday. “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.”
Starting Sept. 12, Delta employees in the U.S. who haven’t been vaccinated will have to undergo weekly Covid-19 testing as long as community case rates remain high, the company said. By the end of September, the company will only provide pay protection for missed time due to Covid-19 to fully vaccinated employees experiencing breakthrough infections.
Beginning in November, unvaccinated employees who are enrolled in Delta’s account-based healthcare plan will have to pay an extra $200 each month. The company said the additional charge will help to cover hospital stays that are more likely for unvaccinated people infected with Covid-19—something that Delta said can cost the company as much as $50,000 a person. In recent weeks, all Delta employees who have been hospitalized with Covid-19 were unvaccinated, Mr. Bastian said.
