United Airlines CEO Says COVID Vaccine Mandate Seems to Have Ended Weekly Employee Death Toll

United Airlines CEO said that the company has not had a weekly employee death toll among its approximately 70,000 employees in eight weeks.

CEO Scott Kirby claimed that it was due to the airline's COVID vaccine mandate, according to a CNBC report.

United Airlines had issued a COVID vaccine mandate in August, being the strictest among U.S. carriers. They ruled that staff must be vaccinated against COVID or face termination.

More than 96 percent of its employees were vaccinated, according to the airline company.

Kirby added that zero of their vaccinated employees are currently hospitalized, with 3,000 United workers now infected with the virus.

Kirby acknowledged that the COVID vaccine mandate is not popular in some circles of his company. However, he noted that it was the right thing to do, according to an NBC News report.

Kirby told employees that zero is the word that matters when it comes to dealing with COVID.

The United CEO said that although some people still disagree with their policy, the COVID vaccine mandate is the right thing to do as it saves lives.

Kirby had also defended United's COVID vaccine mandate from Republican criticism during a recent Senate hearing in December. Kirby noted that the company puts safety at the forefront, according to a Fortune report.

Airline Companies' COVID Vaccine Mandate

United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines confirmed in October that they will follow U.S. President Joe Biden's executive order requiring workers to get the vaccines.

Under Biden's federal vaccine plan, airlines are considered government contractors, according to a CBS News report.

Biden earlier thanked United for being the first of at least six carriers to impose a COVID vaccine mandate.

Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said that they have not done the vaccination with a mandate. Bastian noted that they have done it working collaboratively with their people, trusting them to make their own decisions, while respecting those decisions.

In August last year, Delta announced its plans to raise health insurance premiums by $200 a month for staff not fully vaccinated by November 1, according to a CNBC report.

The Allied Pilots Association wrote to the White House at the time, asking for exemptions for pilots.

Southwest's pilots' union asked a court in Texas to block its implementation last year.

COVID Vaccine Mandate for Travelers

White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said that the nation should consider a vaccine mandate for domestic air travel as COVID cases spike.

Fauci said that a mandate might trigger the nation's lagging vaccination rate while offering stronger protection on flights, according to a USA Today report.

Fauci said that making vaccination a requirement is another incentive to get more people to get vaccinated.

Biden promised full sport of the federal government to states seeing a surge in their COVID cases during the president's virtual meeting with governors.

Biden told governors that if they need something, "say something, and we're going to have your back any way we can."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by Mary Webber

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