Delta Air Lines To Charge Unvaccinated Employees Insurance Surcharge
Delta Airlines is not playing any games when it comes to getting vaccinated and is charging its employees who do not get the vaccine a surcharge in insurance.
Per CNN, the airline said that from November 1, unvaccinated staff will pay up to $200 a month more for their company health insurance, and they will also get a limited number of sick days, as well as taking weekly Coronavirus tests.
The announcement was made by Delta (DAL) CEO Ed Bastian to CNN,
“While we can be proud of our 75% vaccination rate, the aggressiveness of the variant means we need to get many more of our people vaccinated, and as close to 100% as possible,” he said.
“The average hospital stay for Covid-19 has cost Delta $50,000 per person,” said the airline. “This surcharge will be necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company.”
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“This is not just costing lives, this is costing us financial resources as well,” Bastain added.
United Airlines has also mandated vaccines for their employees to protect their operations from the contagious Delta variant, which is allegedly more prevalent in parts of the country with lower vaccination levels.