Tips for managing around vaccines' unknowns

Many thought everything would get a lot simpler when the COVID-19 vaccine was widely distributed. A vaccination would allow employers and vaccinated employees to get back to “normal,” right? After all, wouldn’t everyone want to get vaccinated? With (1) a painfully slow state-by-state rollout, which Saturday Night Live recently mocked, (2) dour pronouncements about a postvaccinated America from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and (3) crickets from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on guidance to incentivize getting the shots, the vaccine process will continue for some time with little and sometimes conflicting federal guidance. Read on to understand how best to navigate the vaccine waters during this challenging time.

Good news

Multiple COVID-19 vaccines are in the market with very good signs of effectiveness. In America, as of early March 2021, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) had approved vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on an emergency use authorization basis.

Of the three, only the J&J vaccine is a true “one-shot” inoculation. Some 50 million Americans have been vaccinated with another 200 million or so to go.

Bad news

The bad news is driven by uncertainty, the “science” that seems to be anything but, and the lack of clear federal guidance on how you may encourage or incentivize your workforce to get vaccinated.