Biden Incentivizes Businesses For Easing Vaccine Access

WASHINGTON, DC — As the United States surpassed 200 million administered coronavirus vaccine doses, President Joe Biden on Wednesday said businesses will be incentivized for encouraging employees and making it easier for them to get vaccinated.

The Biden administration will focus on increased outreach in the coming weeks, hoping to connect with Americans who have yet to receive a vaccine.

This also means addressing obstacles that keep them from getting vaccinated.

“Vaccines can save your own life, but they can also save your grandmother’s life, your co-worker’s life, the grocery store clerk or the delivery person helping you and your neighbors get through the crisis,” Biden said, according to a report by The Associated Press. “That’s why you should get vaccinated.”

Here are five key takeaways from Biden’s remarks:

1. Biden said a tax credit will be given to small businesses that provide paid leave for employees to get vaccinated and to recover from potential side effects. The change would provide a credit of up to $511 per day per employee for businesses with 500 or fewer employees, The AP reported. The change would be paid for through the $1.9 trillion virus relief package passed last month.

2. Large employers were also encouraged to provide paid leave benefits to employees wishing to get vaccinated.

3. Every person 16 years or older is now eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine, Biden said. He also noted that 90 percent of Americans live within five miles of a place administering vaccines they can get vaccinated, according to a report by The Hill.

4. More than 80 percent of people 65 years or older have received the vaccine, according to a report by The Hill.

5. Biden encouraged Americans to continue to mask up and socially distance, noting the country is still on track to have safe gatherings by the Fourth of July.

More than 50 percent of U.S. adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and roughly 28 million doses are being delivered each week, according to The AP.

Yet Biden’s remarks come as the United States approaches a turning point — one where vaccine supply may be on track to outpace demand.

Iowa is one example. Nearly half of all counties there are no longer accepting new doses of the COVID-19 vaccine because demand has decreased, The AP reported. In Florida, Palm Beach County plans to close mass vaccination clinics at the end of May with thousands of available vaccine slots unclaimed. In Arizona, a plan to open a federally run vaccine site in Tucson also fell through due to slipping demand.

At the same time, most Americans who haven’t been immunized say they’re unlikely to get the shots, according to a recent poll by The Washington Post.

While incentives may be enough to prompt employers to encourage employees to get vaccinated, many could still opt to require them.

Whether an employer can mandate vaccines varies by state, according to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

From a legal standpoint, however, employers are allowed to ask their employees whether they have been vaccinated. They can also request proof of vaccination, according to a Washington Post report citing recent guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces federal nondiscrimination laws in the workplace.