Encourage employees to register (“get in line”) at multiple venues: Employees should sign up at several venues, not just one – different hospital systems, CVS, Rite Aid, other pharmacy chains, and county health departments.  According to Wayne State University researchers who worked on the vaccines, it doesn’t matter who administers the shot or whether persons get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.  Once scheduled, employees should not schedule themselves at a second location.  If an employee only registers at one venue, he or she could be waiting a long time for a shot from that venue.  Multiple registrations increase the chance the employee gets vaccinated in a timely manner.

Encourage employees to help their parents get vaccinated.  Employees bring their personal issues into the workplace.  Getting registered for an appointment, whether by telephone or by computer, takes perseverance and patience.  Persons in their eighties or nineties who do not use a computer are going to struggle navigating the computer registration or setting up a “My Chart” account on a hospital.  Employees should do it for them.

Publicize which employees in the organization have been vaccinated.  Either create a thermometer displaying how many employees have been vaccinated, similar to fundraising campaigns (73% to our goal!) or have a poster board showing photos of every employee who has been vaccinated.  Make sure the employee agrees to have their name and photograph displayed.  Don’t be subtle on the caption: “Vaccination Heroes” or “We Protect Our Family – We Got Vaccinated”.

Lead By Example.  The management team of the organization should be the first to get registered, as soon as they are eligible.  Ask the Union leadership – staff representatives and State-wide officers – to publicize their support for vaccination.  For organizations with diverse workforces, show pictures of recognized national and community leaders – clergy, celebrities, and athletes – who support vaccination, since African American and Hispanics have been more reluctant to get vaccinated than other ethnic groups.

Provide information on how employees can get vaccinated.  The vaccination process changes on a weekly basis, especially where employees can get vaccinated and how they register.  Use a variety of media to get the message across, since not all employees read emails.  Beside emails, use bulletin boards, flyers left on lunchroom tables, posters throughout the organization’s buildings, and staff meetings.

Anticipate the request for paid time off to get vaccinated.  There is no “one size fits all answer” to this issue.  Will the organization release non-emergency personnel to get vaccinated?  How much time is allocated?  Will time be charged to the employee’s paid time off banks or will it be treated as working time?  How far away can an employee travel to get vaccinated?

Make it easy for employees to register by computer.  Not every employee has a smart phone or computer, nor can every employee figure out how to register themselves.  Designate H.R. or departmental representatives who will assist the employee get registered.  For someone who has done it before, that process only takes a few minutes.  For someone who has not done it, it can be an extremely frustrating process and some people may give up.

Publicize the benefits of getting vaccinated.  Besides dramatically reducing the chance of dying from Covid, there are other benefits to vaccination, which can be built into the organization’s policies.  The CDC’s guidance now indicates that persons who have been vaccinated, for ninety days after the waiting period after the second shot, do not need to quarantine if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive.  For persons who want to travel, particularly by plane, it is far safer for them after they have been vaccinated.

Encourage employees who have been vaccinated to follow social distancing protocols.  This is not going to be easy to get compliance, however, the CDC recommends that vaccinated individuals still wear masks, avoid crowds, and maintain six feet distance from others.  The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are about 94%-95% effective, not 100% effective.  The Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which is likely to be authorized soon by the FDA for distribution, has a lower effectiveness rate.  Further, scientists have not yet determined how long a vaccinated person is immune or if a vaccinated person can transmit the virus to a person who is not vaccinated.

Be flexible.  Make all plans in pencil, not pen.  Until further scientific studies are conducted this year, there is a lot that is still unknown.  The vaccination distribution program keeps evolving and getting better.  The only certainty is that the process will change.  Help your employees understand how these changes affect their ability to get vaccinated.